Lakers re-sign Darius Morris

More pressing matters await during free agency.

Will the Lakers hit a “home run” as General Manager Mitch Kupchak hopes? Can the Lakers sign a legitimate free agent despite having only a mini mid-level exception ($3 million) and trade exception ($8.9 million) at their disposal? Do the Lakers now have an opening with Dwight Howard, considering that the Nets have a deal in place to acquire Atlanta forward Joe Johnson?

Still, the Lakers took care of at least one bit of free agency that could help their long-term future. They re-signed rookie guard Darius Morris Monday after recently giving him a qualifying offer The Times’ Mike Bresnahan reported to be worth $940,000.

Morris played a limited role this season, averaging 2.4 points on 42.9% shooting and 44.4% shooting from three-point range, 1.1 assists and one turnover in 8.9 minutes in the regular season. Lakers Coach Mike Brown yanked Morris out of the rotation after appearing in seven games as the Lakers’ backup point guard during Steve Blake’s rib injury in January. But the Lakers are in dire need of keeping young and inexpensive talent to shore up their depth.

It’s believed that Morris could mitigate some of his on-court mistakes after playing in the Las Vegas Summer League (July 13-22) and undergoing a full training camp.

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