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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Perhaps partly because Dwight Howard is out of the picture, perhaps partly because Pau Gasol is far healthier than last season (OK, mostly because Howard is out of the picture), Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni has made an about-face from his initial coaching instincts when counting on Gasol's services.

Remember when Gasol was benched late in games last season? Or relegated to sixth man status? Or positioned on the perimeter when he was on the court and encouraged to attempt the most 3-pointers of his 12-year career?

Not the case anymore. Just three days into training camp, D'Antoni has already named two definitive starters while Kobe Bryant is out: Gasol at center and Steve Nash, his longtime pupil, running the point. And expectations are high for the former four-time All-Star in the middle.

"When your knees hurt, it’s not easy to play," D'Antoni said after practice Monday, referring to the 33 games Gasol missed a year ago because of chronic pain in his knees. "I think he feels better and when he feels good, I think he’s going to be great. Keep your fingers crossed because hopefully he’ll have his best year ever. He’s still young enough, he’s only 33."

D'Antoni wasn't finished with the praise yet.

"I think he has at least five more good years, real good years, in him," D'Antoni said.

With Gasol's role firmly entrenched, D'Antoni is turning his sights to a five-man group of Jordan Hill, Chris Kaman, Wesley Johnson, Shawne Williams and rookie Ryan Kelly, to a lesser extent, to determine who will be his partner in the Lakers' starting frontcourt.

It's a diverse crowd. Kaman is the biggest of the bunch at 7-foot, 265 pounds, but he brings with him the ability to consistently hit the from the midrange. Hill is known as an energizing garbage man who plays defense and works the boards, but he spent the offseason working on his outside shot. Williams and Kelly are strictly stretch fours. Johnson is more of a slashing wing who, like Hill, has worked to improve his outside shot to become more appealing in D'Antoni's system.

"Pau can play with anybody," D'Antoni said. "He makes anybody look good with his passing, so, you can play him with Jordan who is more of a runner and slasher, or you can play Kaman who is more of a catch-and-shoot kind of guy, so they’ll all blend in real well together."

D'Antoni said he would prefer to find a full-time starter at power forward by the Lakers' opening night against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 29, rather than shuffle the starting lineup as the season goes on based on matchups.

"I would rather teams have to match up with us," D'Antoni said. "(The) team that we put out there should be our strongest team and we’ll figure that out. It could happen, but I would like to have everybody know their role and feel comfortable in it. Not some days start, some days not. It might happen, but I don’t know."

It's hard to read the tea leaves to handicap the power forward race based on D'Antoni's comments so far.

On one hand, D'Antoni has stressed the need for defense coming out of the position, so Hill could be considered to have the advantage, yet D'Antoni said Hill has been, "Little rusty, little tired like everybody, but good."

The coach has complimented Kaman's versatility in terms of being interchangeable when being on the court together with Gasol, however Kaman starting means that seldom used second-year player Robert Sacre would become the team's back-up center, which would be a major leap from the bench role he played last season.

Johnson has a lot of upside, but very little experience at the position. Williams had success playing under D'Antoni in New York, but was out of the league altogether last season. Kelly hasn't even been able to practice with the team yet during training camp as he continues to work out on the anti-gravity treadmill while recovering from foot problems.

"At this point, we're still determining what the lineups will be," Kaman said. "We've had three practices and everybody is kind of jumping the gun a little bit. Let things happen and see how that goes. Who knows what the lineup is going to be? Who knows if we go small, big? It just depends on the teams and the day and how coach is feeling about certain things."

No matter who wins the starting job, D'Antoni is hoping the pool of players can make up for the absence felt from Howard's departure.

"These guys have other strengths," D'Antoni said. "Dwight is a very good player, obviously, and we would play a certain way. This way we’ll play a little bit more wide open, a little bit different but that remains to be seen. The biggest thing on the defensive end, we just got to collectively do the job."

At the Los Angeles Lakers' media day on Saturday, a few reporters showed up to ask about Kobe Bryant's Achilles (and high-diving skills), Pau Gasol's knees and a host of other topics.

Among the highlights:

• Bryant says he is "feeling good," and while there is no timetable, he's easing back into basketball activity. He also spoke to ESPN 710 -- listen to it here.

• Pau Gasol said Saturday he will not be available for the start of training camp as he continues to recover from offseason procedures in both knees, ESPNLA's Dave McMenamin reports. Listen to Gasol's interview with ESPNLA 710 here.
• Mike D'Antoni talks about the surgery he had right before accepting the Lakers' head coaching job and why this year will be different. Listen here.
• Steve Nash is ready to move on from last's year's disappointing season. Listen here.

Also speaking Saturday to ESPN 710: Jordan Hill (listen to what he has to say here), Steve Blake (interview here), Ryan Kelly (heard here) and Wesley Johnson (his thoughts here).

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.

Michael Beasley was waived by the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, putting the talented, yet troubled, 6-10, 235-pound former No. 2 pick on the market.

With the Los Angeles Lakers lacking a proven small forward on their roster after using the amnesty clause on Metta World Peace, it's only natural to wonder if Beasley might be a good fit in purple and gold.

Here are four questions to consider before that can happen:

1. What is the waiver process for Beasley?

Beasley was owed $6 million by Phoenix in 2013-14 and $6.25 million in 2014-15, but only $3 million of his '14-15 deal was guaranteed. Beasley agreed to a $7 million buyout with the Suns, according to Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix. If any team out there chooses to claim the remaining $7 million on his contract, they'll retain Beasley's rights. That's unlikely to happen.

The way this usually works is a player clears the 48-hour waiver process and then the bids come in, with teams free to use their mid-level, mini mid-level or biannual exception to try to entice Beasley to come on board. The Lakers do not have any of those exceptions available to them. They used their entire mini mid-level exception on Chris Kaman and do not qualify for the biannual exception because of their luxury tax situation, so all they could offer Beasley is a veteran's minimum deal worth approximately $1 million.

There is a chance that a team like Philadelphia, which has not yet met the minimum salary requirement for the 2013-14 season could take on his full salary to meet that basement level, but Philly could just wait to sign other free agents to account for the approximately $10 million in salary it has to acquire without bringing in someone like Beasley with his off-court background into its young, impressionable locker room.

2. Will the Lakers be interested in Beasley?

As one source familiar with the Lakers thinking said, "There's a reason why Phoenix cut him." Even though Beasley is just 24 years old and has career averages of 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in just 26.4 minutes per game, it was his arrest on suspicion of marijuana possession in August that seemed to be what ultimately pushed Phoenix to go in another direction.

However, Beasley had off-court issues before this summer and that didn't stop the Lakers from pushing hard to get him in the 2011-12 season. Twice that season, the Lakers thought it had deals in place to acquire the lefty forward from Minnesota, and twice those deals fell through, the second time just seven minutes removed from the trade deadline.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has shown in recent seasons that once a player catches his interest, that impression doesn't fade easily. Kupchak said that the Lakers had designs on acquiring Steve Blake for years stemming from an great pre-draft workout with the team in 2003. They finally got Blake in 2011. The same goes for Nick Young. Kupchak came close to getting Young for years before having it all come together this summer.

3. Should the Lakers want Beasley?

In a word, yes. Even though the team made some savvy pick-ups with potential in Young, Wes Johnson and Elias Harris to try to fill the void at small forward left by World Peace, none of them are proven players at that position. And yes, Kobe Bryant is just about as good at playing the three as he is at the two at this stage of his career with all the post moves he's developed, but Bryant's health for this season is still very much in question.

Getting Beasley at the minimum for 2013-14 would not only allow the team to keep the financial flexibility for next summer that it so covets, but it would give Mike D'Antoni another offensive weapon to work with. This is a guy who has a career high of 42 points, a guy who once put up 22 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game, a guy who has a 34.5 percent career mark from 3, but has shot 36.6 percent or better from deep in three out of his five career seasons.

Don't discount the appeal of Beasley's ability to shoot it, either. The Lakers drafted Ryan Kelly in the second round primarily for his ability to stretch the floor with his long-range accuracy, but the team has been discouraged by the rookie's progress during the summer, according to multiple league sources. The Lakers doubt that Kelly, who missed summer league while recovering from multiple foot procedures, will be ready for the start of training camp.

Beasley could fill out a couple check marks of what the Lakers are looking for.

4. Should Beasley want the Lakers?

This answer isn't as straight forward. While Beasley has already made approximately $25.9 million in his time in the NBA, according to BasketballReference.com, he did have to agree to give up a guaranteed $2 million over two years in the Phoenix buyout. He could make that money back and then some by signing with a team that offers him the mini mid-level exception of $3.2 million. If he signs with the Lakers for the minimum, he loses $1 million. That might seem insignificant when you've already made $26 million, but $1 million is $1 million, especially for a player whose future in the league is far from certain.

So, financially maybe the Lakers aren't the best fit for Beasley.

However, style of play wise, L.A. could be perfect for him. Not only are D'Antoni's open-court sets suited for his game, but Beasley had his best season as a professional while coached by Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis when he was the head coach in Minnesota in 2010-11.

Not only that, but the Lakers have had success in recent seasons in salvaging guys' careers who were rich in talent, but poor in opportunity (think Shannon Brown, Trevor Ariza, Jordan Hill, Earl Clark).

And the opportunity should be plentiful in L.A. at small forward.

Ironically, it was Phil Jackson who may have best summed up Mike D’Antoni’s first season as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Mike hasn’t had a chance in L.A., he really hasn’t,” Jackson said back in May while appearing as a guest on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," after audience members booed the mention of D'Antoni's name.

And that was before Dwight Howard left for Houston, making it clear on his way out the door that he would have preferred Jackson over D’Antoni as the Lakers' head coach.

D’Antoni has been maligned by some Lakers faithful for the team's disappointing 2012-13 season, and perceived by many to be at least partially responsible for Howard's departure. And although he replaced Mike Brown five games into last season, plenty of Lakers fans feel he actually replaced Jackson, since the 11-time champion had interviewed for the job before D’Antoni did back in November, and seemed to have landed it until a notorious late-night call from Lakers management informed him otherwise.

But grumbling aside, D'Antoni remains in the job, and has the backing of the front office heading into the 2013-14 season. Executive vice president Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak believe that the coach’s flexibility in the second half of last season was a key factor in the team finishing 28-12 and want to give him a full training camp and a healthy roster in 2013-14 in order to show what he can do.

Several times last season, D’Antoni paraphrased Winston Churchill in describing his approach to the Lakers' ups and downs, “When you're going through hell, you put your head down and keep going, and that's what we're going to do.”

The pressure of a $100 million payroll that was built to be a contender and was struggling just to play .500 ball was persistent and intense. The Lakers are hoping that Howard’s departure will perhaps act as a sort of pressure release valve heading into the upcoming season.

“Expectations should be lower and I think that will ease the pressure on him,” said a source familiar with the Lakers front office’s thinking.

“I think every year's fun,” D’Antoni recently told Fox Sports when asked how grateful he was to have a traditional offseason to prepare his team. “Coaching's fun, so I'm not complaining the other way, but this is a lot better. Some of the best times are training camp and getting your ideas in how you'd like them.”

None of Churchill's grim determination there.

Late last season D’Antoni told ESPNLosAngeles.com, “We're not running anything that I would normally run,” but the moves the Lakers have made since Howard left for Houston have been more in step with the system for which D’Antoni is known.

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Lakers announced their official summer league roster and coaching staff on Wednesday morning.

Lakers assistant coach Dan D’Antoni will serve as the team’s head coach. Flanking him on the sidelines will be assistant coaches Larry Lewis, Mark Madsen and Clay Moser.

There’s only been one practice so far, but D’Antoni already likes what he’s seen from the group of NBA hopefuls.

“I know there’s enough talent out here that’s been as good as some as we’ve coached in the NBA,” D’Antoni said.

While the Lakers rarely sign players from summer league -- many of whom are second-round picks and undrafted players -- D’Antoni said a handful of guys would have a legitimate chance to make an NBA roster.

The challenge, of course, is finding the gem that slips through the cracks.

“As coaches, we’re putting in things to test them to see if we like them,” D’Antoni said. “It’s a little bit of an experiment. It’s not about wins and losses as much as it’s to see players and make an evaluation.”

Highlighting the 18-man roster are Lakers’ second-year forward/center Robert Sacre and rookie forward Ryan Kelly, who will not be playing because of a right foot injury he suffered at Duke.

At least one of the Lakers’ free-agent big men will be remaining with the team next season, as Sacre officially re-signed on Wednesday. The terms of the agreement were not released.

“It was a unique year, that’s for sure,” Sacre said of his first season with the Lakers. “I definitely saw more in one year than most guys see in five. It’s good to be a Laker, that’s all I can say about that. But my first year was a great experience, I’m glad I went through it. Now I can just move on and keep working on my game.”

Among potential training camp invitees, guard/forward Chris Douglas-Roberts, the 40th pick in the 2008 draft, and guard Josh Selby, the 49th pick in the 2011 draft, are the most notable names.

Douglas-Roberts already has a solid rapport with the Lakers, as he was invited to their training camp last season before ultimately being cut in the middle of preseason. He played in four preseason games, averaging 4.0 points and 0.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game, and developed a solid relationship with Kobe Bryant.

D’Antoni said Douglas-Roberts was the player to keep the closest eye on from the roster.

Selby was named co-MVP of last season’s summer league along with Portland Trailblazers Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard.

“We have a pretty good group of guys,” Selby said. “We have a great coaching staff that’s willing to teach you the game. I think this is an opportunity for me to showcase my talents and better myself.”

The 6-2, 195-pound point guard has career averages of 2.2 points and 0.9 assists per game in 38 games with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Other players with NBA experience include forward Lazar Hayward (three years), guard Lester Hudson (three years), forward Marcus Landry (two years) and forward Jordan Williams (one year).

A few local college products also made the roster, including guard D.J. Seeley (Cal State Fullerton), forward Drew Viney (Loyola Marymount) and forward Renaldo Woolridge (USC).

The rest of the squad is rounded out by guard Souleyman Diabate, forward Elias Harris, center Travis Hyman, forward Ian Hummer, guard Michael Snaer and forward Mitchell Watt.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Though Los Angeles Lakers second-round draft pick Ryan Kelly will not be playing in the team’s upcoming summer league in Las Vegas, the 6-11 forward said he’ll be on the sidelines cheering on his teammates and soaking in his first taste of NBA competition.

“I’m going to be in (Las) Vegas, experiencing that whole thing with the team, with the guys,” Kelly said. “That’s part of who I am as a person and as a player. I’m not a bad cheerleader either on the sideline, so I’ll be rooting for them the whole time.”

Kelly, the Lakers’ 48th overall selection in last month’s draft out of Duke, is recovering from a right foot injury that has sidelined him since Duke was ousted from the NCAA tournament on March 31.

While Kelly said he’s feeling great and nearing 100 percent, he still needs another few weeks to get into basketball shape and regain his comfort on the floor.

In the meantime, Kelly is doing light shooting practice and working on his strength in the pool. He’s also watching hours of NBA film, studying coach Mike D’Antoni’s offensive and defensive systems, and picking up NBA terminology as he goes.

“It’s an exciting time,” Kelly said of his learning experience. “I’m having a blast and I’m very thankful and happy to be out here.”

Listed at 228 pounds, Kelly understands his adjustment to playing against “bigger, stronger and faster” competition is going to be difficult. Though he doesn’t want to put on too much weight and complicate his foot injury, Kelly said that his main focus is on getting stronger to battle inside if necessary.

Kelly’s strengths are from the perimeter, though, which makes him a natural fit in D’Antoni’s offensive philosophy. Big men who can shoot three-pointers are rare, and Kelly hopes to use his skill set to carve out playing time.

“That’s a commodity in this league right now with the way the game is turning,” Kelly said of big men who can space the floor. “I think in coach D’Antoni’s system that’s certainly something he likes to play with and that he’s played with in his past coaching positions.

“I think there’s an opportunity there and I’d like to take advantage of that.”

As a second-round pick, Kelly knows he’ll have to put in a lot of extra work just to make the Lakers’ roster in the fall. Still, he feels he has a lot to prove and that, ultimately, his intense work ethic will allow him to have a fruitful NBA career.

“I’ll be ready for whatever role I’m going to be in,” Kelly said. “I work my tail off everyday. I put myself in a position to be ready for whatever opportunity I have. That’s something that people of Los Angeles should know, I work my hardest every day.”

Lost in the madness of Dwight Howard deciding whether to remain with the Lakers is the fact that the franchise just added a big man who fits perfectly with head coach Mike D’Antoni’s vision.

With the No. 48 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft the Lakers selected Duke forward Ryan Kelly, a sharpshooting big man practically designed for D’Antoni’s offensive style. Although Kelly’s arrival is nowhere near as important as Howard’s free agency decision, it is perhaps a sign that the Lakers plan on adhering to D’Antoni’s system by flooding the court with shooters.

As a senior, Kelly made 42.2 percent of his three-pointers on 3.6 attempts per game, a strong indication that the 6-11 rookie can provide legitimate floor spacing as a stretch power forward.

While primarily labeled a spot-up shooter, Kelly also possesses solid ball handling and passing skills (1.65 assist to turnover ratio), can pull up for one-dribble mid-range jumpers and has an emerging turnaround shot in the post. He also averaged 1.6 blocks per game this season and posted Duke’s second-highest defensive rating (95.9).

If he is able to carve out a role in the rotation, Kelly could provide Howard and Pau Gasol with the interior space they need by operating from the high post and behind the three-point arc. If opponents don't respect his shot, which is likely at first, Kelly will have to capitalize on his open mid-range and 3-point looks and make defenses pay.

Of course, there’s a reason why 47 players were selected ahead of him in the draft. Expectations for a second round pick have to be tempered, as most of them don’t pan out as rotation players.

The biggest obstacle to Kelly making the Lakers’ 2013-14 roster, and establishing a long and fruitful NBA career, is his lack of strength (228 lbs.) and athleticism. This deficiency prevents him from rebounding at an even average rate -- he only grabbed 5.3 rebounds per game this season -- and will make his adjustment to defending quick forwards almost impossible.

Throughout his 126-game NCAA career, which includes 69 starts, Kelly only registered double-digit rebounds on four occasions (3.1 percent of his games). Rebounding is one of the statistics that best translates from college to the pros, and Kelly’s career 10.8 rebounding percentage suggests he’ll be a poor rebounder.

Despite being nearly seven feet tall, Kelly only has a 6-11.5 wingspan, which is below average for his height. Combined with his lack of lateral speed and explosion, Kelly will have trouble defending pick-and-rolls, protecting the rim and providing timely rotations.

Also, there is no way to predict how longer and more athletic defenses will affect Kelly’s scoring and shooting abilities, as his size advantage will be negated against most NBA big men.

In the best-case scenario, Kelly projects as a poor man’s Andrea Bargnani, as he can spot-up and score from virtually anywhere on the floor -- in the post, mid-range or beyond the arc -- while providing little help defensively and on the boards.

However, Kelly’s likely career path will be serving as a big man shooting specialist like San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner. Similar to Kelly, Bonner is known for his shooting prowess and ability to draw opposing big men out from the paint, which allows the Spurs guards and big men to function with more room.

Bonner is also an underrated defender who finds way to be effective despite not being athletic, which is a template Kelly can aspire to follow.
Coming off of a serious right foot injury, Kelly won’t get to participate in Summer League, so the onus will be on him to put in the extra work and repetitions he’s missing out on.

More than anything, though, Kelly needs to continue developing the accuracy of his three-point shot to the point where teams won’t be able to leave him open. If he cannot establish one elite skill, his prospects with the Lakers aren’t optimistic.

Still, at pick No. 48 Kelly is arguably a steal. ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton had Kelly ranked 38th on his prospect board -- rankings almost solely based off college statistics and projections at the NBA level -- ahead of first round picks Tony Snell, Mason Plumlee and Archie Goodwin.

There was perhaps no better situation for Kelly to land than the Lakers, as they need a shooting big man to replace the likely departed Antawn Jamison. Though the odds of Kelly finding a spot in the rotation aren’t high, it’s certainly possible given the lack of perimeter-oriented big men available to the Lakers given their financial constraints.

He has his chance, now he has to make the most out of the opportunity.

Stats used in this post are from ESPN.com and Sports-Reference.com/CollegeBasketball

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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