Turiaf Leaning Toward Laker Deal

PORTLAND, Ore. —  Ronny Turiaf took another step toward resuming his previously scheduled life, moving closer to signing with the Lakers less than six months after having open-heart surgery.

Turiaf’s agent said his client could have signed a $700,000 contract with a pro team in Spain but is leaning toward joining the Lakers.

“It’s looking pretty good,” agent Bouna Ndiaye said Wednesday.

The Lakers are believed to be offering the league minimum of $399,000, prorated to games played.

Turiaf, drafted No. 37 in June, has received clearance from team doctors, and his agent will talk again today with Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Turiaf was invited to Wednesday’s Laker game in Portland by Kupchak and Vice President Jim Buss and sat with them during the Lakers’ 113-103 loss.

Turiaf played nine games for the CBA’s Yakama (Wash.) Sun Kings and averaged 13 points and 6.3 rebounds. He had 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists Tuesday against Sioux Falls (S.D.).

“Conditioning is still a factor to some degree, but he’s gotten a lot better,” Kupchak said. “We do want him on our team. We liked him during the summer when he was healthy, so if he’s healthy today, why wouldn’t we like him today? That is our intention.”

The Lakers, already carrying the league-maximum 15 players, are believed to be determining which injured player to waive before completing the final touches on negotiations with Turiaf.

Forward Slava Medvedenko, sidelined because of a herniated disk in his back, and guard Laron Profit, out because of a ruptured Achilles’ tendon, are not expected to return this season.

The Lakers must pay the salary of any player who is waived: Medvedenko is making $3 million in the final year of his contract, and Profit is making $836,000 in the last guaranteed year of his contract.

Turiaf said he would remain cautious about a Laker career until pen is put to paper.

“I don’t want to say anything until I see the contract,” he said.

Laker officials were concerned that Turiaf would miss the entire season, but he was cleared for physical contact in November and signed with the Sun Kings last month.

The Lakers, who paid more than $100,000 for Turiaf’s heart surgery after an enlarged aortic root was discovered by team doctors, had player-personnel evaluators at almost all of Turiaf’s CBA games.

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Kobe Bryant met Tuesday with Nike representatives in nearby Beaverton, Ore., a month before a TV commercial featuring Bryant debuts during the All-Star break.

Bryant, whose appearance in a two-page Nike ad in Sports Illustrated in July marked his reemergence as a celebrity endorser on the national stage, will be marketing his first Nike signature shoe, the Zoom Kobe I.

Bryant, who signed a five-year, $45-million endorsement deal with Nike in June 2003, was accused of sexual assault a month later; charges were dropped in September 2004.

Bryant would not disclose details of the TV spot other than to say it would be “simple, true to form.”

TONIGHT

vs. Cleveland, 7:30, TNT

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570, 1330.

Records -- Lakers 18-17, Cavaliers 20-12.

Record vs. Cavaliers (2004-05) -- 1-1.

Update -- The Cavaliers are trying to adjust to the loss of shooting guard Larry Hughes, out at least six weeks because of a broken finger. Tickets -- (800) 462-2849 or ticketmaster.com