Lakers Sign Jordan Hill

Following up on the Antawn Jamison acquisition, the Lakers have cemented their frontcourt rotation today by re-signing Jordan Hill, who had previously been deciding between the Lakers and the Timberwolves. According to the omnipresent Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Hill's deal is for two years and $8 million, solid value for a backup big who can play both frontcourt spots and provide quite a bit of upside as well. Going into the offseason, the Lakers were restricted to offering Hill a contract starting at the value of the team option Houston declined earlier in the year ($3.6 million), and it appears that Hill decided that he preferred competiting for a championship than backing up Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic in Minnesota.

Acquired in the Derek Fisher trade to Houston, Hill was a revelation once he got consistent minutes, posting one of the best rebound rates in the entire league, hustling on both ends, and showing glimpses of a nice offensive game. With a full offseason and training camp with the team, one can only expect him to perform better, and between Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Jamison, and Hill, the Lakers have a rock solid frontcourt rotation as good as any in the league, Dwight Howard or no. One or two more moves might be needed to finish filling out the rotation, namely a wing who can back up Kobe Bryant, shoot from range, and defend, but thus far, Mitch Kupchak has done a magnificent job this offseason.