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The Los Angeles Lakers are bringing 6-foot-11 center Dan Gadzuric to camp, according to a source. Gadzuric, a former UCLA player, last played in the NBA in 2012 for the New York Knicks. In February, he joined a team in Venezuala.

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Friday they have signed rookie forward Ryan Kelly.

The 6-foot-11 forward from Duke was selected by the Lakers in the second round of June's NBA draft with the 48th pick overall.

Kelly played four seasons for Duke and was part of a national championship team in 2010. During his team at the school, Kelly averaged 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. As a senior, he averaged 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Kelly did not play for the Lakers' summer league team because he was recovering from offseason foot surgery after an injury caused him to miss 13 games last season.

Earlier this month, ESPNLA's Dave McMenamin reported that according to multiple league sources, the Lakers were discouraged by Kelly's progress during the summer and doubted the rookie would be ready for the start of training camp.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent forward Shawne Williams, the team announced Tuesday. Williams' contract is one year deal for the veteran's minimum (worth approximately $1.1 million) but is only partially guaranteed, according to a league source.

Williams last played in the NBA for the Brooklyn Nets (then the New Jersey Nets) in 2011-12, averaging 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 25 games. The 6-foot-9 forward, drafted with the No. 17 pick out of Memphis by the Indiana Pacers in 2006, has career averages of 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.4 minutes in 215 career games (23 starts) for the Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and Nets.

The 27-year-old Williams had the best production of his career playing under Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni for the Knicks in 2010-11. That season, Williams averaged 7.1 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 40.1 percent on 3-pointers.

ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley previously reported Williams' invite to Lakers training camp in July.

The NBA's 2013-14 season schedule was released Tuesday afternoon and there are plenty of intriguing games for Los Angeles Lakers fans to circle on their calendars (or enter reminders in their smart phones).

Here's a quick breakdown:

THE START

The Lakers tip things off playing in one of the three nationally televised games on opening night, Oct. 29, at home against the Clippers. They go upstate to play the Warriors the very next day, the first of 19 back-to-backs on the season. L.A. comes back to Staples Center for their next two games, hosting the San Antonio Spurs on the Nov. 1 and then the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 3.

DWIGHT TIME

The Lakers travel to Houston to face off against Dwight Howard and the Rockets on Nov. 7 in just their sixth game of the season. You think that will give Kobe Bryant any motivation to be ready to play by late October? Howard will return to L.A. to hear the boo-birds on Feb. 19 in the Lakers' first game after the All-Star break.

FAMILIAR FACES

Former Lakers head coach Mike Brown (along with Earl Clark and Andrew Bynum, if he's healthy) will come to town on Jan. 14 when the Lakers host the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers also travel to Cleveland on Feb. 5 in the middle game of a three-game trip that ends Feb. 7 in Philadelphia when Bryant will have yet another Philly homecoming.

Metta World Peace will surely receive a warm welcome from Lakers fans on March 25 when he returns to L.A. with the Knicks on March 25.

The Lakers will get their first look at Brian Shaw coaching the Nuggets on Nov. 13 (the first of two times next season when the Lakers play the second night of a back-to-back in the Denver altitude) and Shaw and Co. come to L.A. on Jan. 5.

MARQUEE MATCHUPS

The Lakers host LeBron James and the two-time defending champion Miami Heat on Christmas Day and foam fingers probably won't be handed out at the door this time. The game is at 2 p.m. PT on ABC. The Lakers play in Miami on Jan. 23.

They go to OKC to play Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook (and Derek Fisher) on Dec. 13 and play the Thunder in a rare home-road two game series on March 9 in L.A. and March 13 in Oklahoma City.

ROAD ARENAS

Their annual trip to the Mecca of Basketball at Madison Square Garden is Jan. 26 when they face World Peace and the Knicks and L.A. goes to the place that has been a thorn in its side for the last decade -- the Rose Garden in Portland -- on March 3.

RIVALS

L.A. plays the Clippers on three other occasions after opening night -- Jan. 14 ("road" game), March 6 and April 6 (another "road" game). They travel to play the stripped-down Boston Celtics on Jan. 17 and the guys in green come to L.A. on Feb. 21.

ROAD TRIPPING

The Lakers' longest road trip is seven games -- at Phoenix, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Orlando and New York -- spanning from Jan. 15-26. Their second-longest is a four-game trip through Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Atlanta and Memphis from Dec. 13-17.

THE FINISH

The Lakers have a brutal six-game stretch to close out the regular season, which could prove challenging if they find themselves on the playoff bubble. It starts with a road game against the Clippers, followed by three games at home against Houston, Golden State and Memphis and ends up on the road in Utah and in San Antonio.

After hiring their last three head coaches primarily based on their NBA experience, the Los Angeles D-Fenders are targeting a former D-League champion this time around.

The D-Fenders, the Los Angeles Lakers' D-League affiliate, are in advanced discussions to hire Springfield Armor head coach Bob MacKinnon to fill the vacancy caused when Mark Madsen joined Mike D'Antoni's staff on the Lakers, according to multiple league sources.

MacKinnon guided Springfield to just a 18-32 record last season but won a championship with the Colorado 14ers (now the Texas Legends) in 2009 in his first year coaching in the D-League.

MacKinnon, whose father Bob MacKinnon Sr. played, coached and was an executive in the NBA, was formerly an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina, which is the alma mater of Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.

Madsen, who never coached a game for the D-Fenders before being promoted to D'Antoni's staff, was hired in May to replace Reggie Theus, who left the D-Fenders after a 21-29 season to become the head coach at Cal State Northridge. Theus was previously the head coach for the Sacramento Kings. Before Theus, the D-Fenders were coached by Eric Musselman (who previously coached the Golden State Warriors). Musselman coached the D-Fenders for one season, winning D-League coach of the year honors, before leaving to man the sidelines at Arizona State.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- In the week since Dwight Howard announced his decision to go to the Houston Rockets, players and front-office members of the Los Angeles Lakers have been treading pretty lightly on the subject.

General manager Mitch Kupchak released a statement wishing Howard luck. Even Kobe Bryant said, "I'm happy for him."

Leave it to L.A. native and newly-minted Laker Nick Young to say what everybody seemed to be thinking at his introductory news conference on Friday.

"That was the first time I've ever seen anybody leave L.A., wanting to leave L.A., and I'm from here so I haven't seen that," said the 28-year-old Young, who not only played high school ball at Reseda Cleveland but also played his college basketball at USC. "But Dwight had to do what he had to do."

Young jumped at the chance to return to the place where Howard fled.

"I just felt like I needed this opportunity," Young said. "Over the past couple of years, I feel like I've been getting disrespected a little bit out there and I feel with this stage the Lakers set, with the opportunity for playing time here, I can get my name back out there and get the respect I feel I deserve. I did this for myself, really."

The disrespect Young was referring to occurred in Philadelphia last season. The 76ers signed him to a one-year, $6 million deal, and he languished on the bench, picking up DNP-CDs with regularity. A season before that, he was hitting big shots in the playoffs for the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2010-11, he was averaging a career-high 17.4 points per game for the Washington Wizards.

Coming to Los Angeles was about getting back on track.

"We think there's a lot of playing time here for him if he works hard and earns it," Kupchak said. "We see him playing at the small forward and the guard position. He's very gifted athletically. We know he can score. We've been talking about improving the other parts of his game, which I think he's committed to working on to becoming a complete player."

While the Lakers couldn't offer Young much in terms of salary -- he signed a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum, worth about $1.2 million -- what they could offer was the precious commodity of a chance to play major minutes and a shot at the future.

Even though the Lakers have let it be known they want to maintain as much cap flexibility for the summer of 2014 as possible to pursue max-level free agents, Young is seen as a piece that could stick around once those marquee players are added.

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Kobe Bryant might still be months away from being able to run and jump following Achilles surgery in April, but there is an ardent supporter in Bryant's corner who swears that he'll come all the way back and then some.

Dwight Howard chose to go far, far away from Bryant, but Shaquille O'Neal has come back around to offer his full support to his former teammate.

"Kobe's a tough competitor," O'Neal said on a conference call Wednesday to promote his involvement in Adam Sandler's new movie, "Grown Ups 2," which opens in theaters Friday. "He loves when everyone doubts him. Of course at (almost) 35, they're saying he's done, but Kobe will show the world that he can play at a high level until he's 40. I know with the rehab, he's probably only supposed to do it once a day. I know for a fact he's doing it twice, if not three times a day. He tells everybody he's coming back in December, but if he could, he would like to be ready at the start of the season. That's how much he's going to push this thing to try to get to 100 percent."

O'Neal's praise of Bryant carries even more weight when you consider that it was a torn Achilles that ended O'Neal's career in 2011, when he was a 39-year-old playing in his 19th season as a member of the Boston Celtics.

"It was a career-ending injury," O'Neal said. "There should have been one more year left on the deal, but I was like, 'Nah, I'm older.' I was always used to dominating and playing at a high level. When I was with the Celtics, it was more of like a reserve role and I really wasn't comfortable with that. I didn't want to be in anybody's way and I just wanted to give somebody else a chance -- like a young guy, if they wanted to sign anybody else."

Why didn't O'Neal persevere through the injury and try to give it one last try to extend his career, the way that Bryant is dubbing his comeback "The Last Chapter"?

"Basically, I was just tired," O'Neal said. "I didn’t want to do rehab. I didn't want to fight to come back and all that."

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Chris Duhon, it was announced Saturday by the team in a news release.

The team said general manager Mitch Kupchak made the announcement.

In 46 games (nine starts) last season with the Lakers, Duhon averaged 2.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 17.8 minutes while recording three double-figure scoring games, 10-plus assists twice and one double-double.

Duhon was a point guard at Duke from 2000-04. He then played for the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic before joining the Lakers.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- When it came time to make the Los Angeles Lakers' No. 48 pick in the second round of Thursday's NBA draft, part of general manager Mitch Kupchak wanted to cringe.

"It was dramatic," said Kupchak, a University of North Carolina alumnus, about selecting 6-foot-11 forward Ryan Kelly out of Duke. "It was traumatic as well."

Kupchak was able to stomach dipping into the other side of the Tobacco Road rivalry if it meant making the Lakers better, which he feels the team accomplished in picking up a stretch four in Kelly who shot 42.2 percent on 3-pointers in his senior season with the Blue Devils.

"He was the player that we had rated the highest still on the board," Kupchak said. "It's unusual to get a guy who's 6-11, 6-11½ that has a skill like he has. So, it's a unique opportunity. A big player that has an NBA frame that can shoot the ball, not only midrange, but he can make some shots [deep]. I think he can become a consistent 3-point shooter in the NBA as well."

Kelly comes with some risk, however. The 22-year-old missed 13 games last season because of complications stemming from surgery on his right foot last summer. He required another surgery after the season was over to put a bigger screw into his foot to fix his fractured metatarsal and is 11 weeks into the 12-week recovery timetable, meaning that Kelly was unable to participate in a pre-draft workout for L.A.

"When you can't work out and you have foot injury, that's something that people are going to have to look at and they may not be willing to take a chance," Kelly said. "But, I certainly believe that I was worth the chance and I'm going to prove anybody wrong that decided not to get me."

While Kelly has been medically cleared to resume basketball activities, Kupchak said he does not anticipate Kelly would play on the Lakers summer league team in Las Vegas from July 12-22.

"I don't think there's any reason to rush him," Kupchak said. "So, keeping that in mind, you're talking about three more months to get ready for training camp. I don't think there will be any problem."

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NEW YORK -- Steve Nash is not yet 100 percent healthy, but the 39-year-old point guard is confident he will be at full health for the start of training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I'll be fine," Nash said Wednesday after playing in his foundation's annual celebrity soccer game. "It's just going to take me another few weeks to get back to 100 percent and then I'll train like usual for the season."

Nash, who suffered through a fractured fibula and right hamstring and hip injuries last season, says he does not think he will need to play on a minutes limit next season. Lakers trainer Gary Vitti recently suggested in an interview with Lakers.com that Nash could benefit from a minutes limit.

Nash also addressed Dwight Howard's future on Wednesday. The Lakers hope to resign the free agent center this summer. They made their intentions clear to the world on Wednesday when they unveiled a billboard in Los Angeles to publicly court Howard.

Nash smiled when a reporter mentioned the Howard billboard.

"We love Dwight," Nash said. "We were just scratching the surface last year with all the injuries (and) we think we can really form something special after having a year under our belt and going through a training camp together."

Nash says he's also confident Howard can thrive under coach Mike D'Antoni. Howard complained at times last season about his role in D'Antoni's offense.

"He played Mike's offense pretty much in Orlando so if he (felt comfortable) in Orlando, I think we can make it work (in Los Angeles)," Nash said. "We need to surround him with some shooters, but I think he'll be great in it."

LOS ANGELES -- Phil Jackson has no intention to coach next season, but that may not prevent him from being a part of the Los Angeles Lakers in the near future.

Jackson said Wednesday that he has had conversations with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak recently about the team and expects to have more moving forward.

"We discussed some things, me and Mitch in the past couple of weeks, bouncing things around," Jackson said. "That's been something that has happened. It's not something I expect them to rely on me for information, but I'm there to offer it. Not so much advice. Explaining the program that they're headed toward down the road and resolutions they had in the past and trying to clean that up and talk about some of the things in the future that are different ways in which they can resolve the issues. They asked if I can be of assistance. I said, 'Yeah, I'll help in whatever area you need to have help.'"

Jackson was careful not get into specifics of his conversation with Kupchak about the Lakers, but Kupchak said he does talk to Jackson about basketball and the Lakers since Jackson is at the Lakers' facility often to see his fiance, Jeanie Buss, the Lakers' governor and executive vice president of business operations.

"He's over at the facility every now and then for obvious reasons," Kupchak said. "I'll see him then. We have reason to talk by phone every now and then. … Obviously his accomplishments here, and relationship with Jeanie, create an environment that we're susceptible to dialogue with a basketball person like Phil. If he was working for another team, it wouldn't be the same."

Kupchak did not rule out the possibility of Jackson's having a more official role with the team moving forward after Jackson has passed up several opportunities with other teams.

"I'm not sure why somebody like Phil isn't working for an NBA club right now," Kupchak said. "He has so much to offer to any franchise. Even though he doesn't have an official role with us, he's a consultant of sorts. Jeanie, I'm sure, talks to him every night about basketball. It may not be official, but there is an existing relationship."

Jackson, Kupchak and Buss spoke at a Time Warner Cable media event in downtown Los Angeles honoring former Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, who died in February.

Jeanie Buss wanted Jackson to replace Mike Brown as the coach of the Lakers last season, but her brother, Jim, and Kupchak went with Mike D'Antoni instead. Despite not getting the head coaching job, Jeanie Buss says she wants everyone to know Jackson is still an integral part of the team.

"Phil is a part of the organization because of me," she said. "Really the best way to look at it is the night of the Shaq jersey retirement, and Phil spoke on behalf of the Lakers fans and team. I want Lakers fans to know he is part of it. He's part of my life and part of my family. He's always in the Laker world no matter if he has an official position or not."

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MILWAUKEE -- Former Los Angeles Lakers coach Bill Sharman had enjoyed relative anonymity for years, as the 86-year-old continued to serve as a consultant to the team and attend games with regularity.

Well, ever since the Miami Heat threatened his 1971-72 Lakers' record 33-game winning streak, Sharman became relevant on a national scale again.

Apparently Sharman is using all that attention for good.

Sharman is raffling off his 2010 Lakers championship ring to raise money to be spread across eight charities of his choosing.

Metta World Peace engaged in a similar endeavor, raffling off his 2010 ring and raising more than $650,000 for mental health charities. While World Peace's ring was special because he earned it by scoring 20 points in Game 7 of the Finals against Boston, Sharman's NBA credentials are even more impressive. Sharman is one of just three people to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.

More details about the raffle will become available after a news conference Wednesday. The fundraiser is being put on thanks to NetRaffle.org by Celebrities For Charity.

Pau Gasol underwent an ultrasound on his right foot Tuesday and results of the test showed continued healing and improvement of the plantar fascia tear that has kept him out of the lineup since being injured Feb. 5, according to a Los Angeles Lakers spokesman.

Gasol will continue to increase his work load and return to the lineup when he is ready and pain free.

The Lakers, who don't return to game action until Friday night at home when they host the Washington Wizards, have gone 13-7 with Gasol out of the lineup.

HOUSTON -- Different All-Star city, same mixed messages from Dwight Howard regarding his future.

For a second straight season, Howard's commitment to his team has come under intense scrutiny during All-Star Weekend. And much like in last year's midseason showcase in Orlando, Fla., when he was still with the Magic, Howard shuffled between conflicting statements and left no indication whether he wanted to remain with the Lakers.

Howard confirmed Friday he has received assurances from Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak that he wouldn't be dealt by next week's trade deadline despite his unwillingness to commit to an extension or a new contract after the season.

Asked during Friday's All-Star media session if he'd be shocked if the Lakers traded him in the coming days, Howard said: "Well, they told me they weren't going to trade me. So, yeah, I would be surprised."

Howard spent much of his 30-minute session with reporters trying to deflect questions about his future. But ultimately, he said he wouldn't be pressured by anyone into making a decision about his future before the end of the season.

"The only thing that matters is the present, and right now," Howard said. "There's no need to talk about what's going to happen at the end of the season. No reason to go back and forth about it. I just feel like at the end of the year, I should have my opportunity to make my own decision. I shouldn't be criticized for waiting for the end of the year."

Without some kind of indication from Howard, the Lakers could risk losing the league's best center in free agency this summer without getting key assets in return. Orlando faced the same dilemma this time last season, but ultimately got Howard to waive an early termination contract clause that would have allowed him to enter free agency last summer.

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Mike D'Antoni declared at his introductory news conference that he envisioned a "Showtime: 2" for the Los Angeles Lakers under his watch and the team should average 110-115 points per game.

He has had to adjust those expectations, obviously.

The Lakers have won six out of their last seven games and have cracked 110 points just twice in that stretch, proving they can grind games out to get the victory even if it goes against the style D'Antoni is known for.

Things could get even slower for the Lakers offense with Pau Gasol out indefinitely and Dwight Howard still sidelined because of a sore right shoulder. L.A. will likely turn to the less-mobile Robert Sacre, whose game is suited for a plodding type of play, to plug up the middle in their absence.

D'Antoni claims he has already adapted to fit the Lakers this season and is ready to continue to do so in light of the injury news.

"We had a system that we ran in Phoenix that was different and it was really successful and I liked it obviously," D'Antoni told the Mason & Ireland Show on ESPNLA 710 radio on Wednesday. "It was fun to play that way, but I don't have a system. I just think we try to play what's best for our personnel and what's best for the game of basketball that's kind of evolving in the last few years. A lot of teams are going a lot smaller, they're spreading the floor more, they're using the 3-point shot a lot more. Basketball has changed and it's changed how you can't guard with your hands on the perimeter and the players have changed -- much more skilled, better shooters, better passers. So, that's where it is today."

D'Antoni's point about the direction the league is heading was evidenced by last year's NBA Finals matchup between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder that was dominated by wing players on both teams and marginalized the use of back-to-the-basket big men in their approach to the game.

"I can play any way," D'Antoni said. "I don't care if we run, if we slow it down, we want to win and we want to try to get the best out of every player and I do believe that opening the floor up and playing at a faster pace is a lot better for a lot of players.

"Now, we've struggled with that and we weren't built to be the Phoenix team. We weren't built to be real fast. I would like to get there some day, but we're trying to play at the speed that is more conducive to how we are. But, I do believe in a certain way and I do believe certain things in basketball do not change -- that's sharing the ball, spreading the floor, playing great defense, everybody playing for everybody else and not being selfish. I think every coach is more or less the same. I don't think coaches are that much different. It's just how you get your message across and can you get it across."

The Lakers are sixth in the league in points per game this season at 102.12 points per game and eighth in offensive efficiency, averaging 105.3 points per 100 possessions. The Lakers are the only team in the top 10 in the NBA in offensive efficiency with a sub-.500 record, suggesting that while D'Antoni's offense gets most of the attention when figuring out what's wrong with the Lakers, their defense is probably the real culprit.