NBA free agency: Lakers, Francisco Garcia have 'mutual interest', according to report

Ignore whatever we said earlier about redefining what a chaotic start to free agency meant since the Los Angeles Lakers have basically taken it upon themselves to contact every wing player in the league at this juncture, with this particular instance focusing on Francisco Garcia. From ESPNLA's Dave McMenamin:

The Lakers have been in contact with Francisco Garcia's representative, according to a league source. There is "mutual interest"

A longtime member of the Kings, Garcia was traded to the Rockets this past season in the deal that also included his teammate Thomas Robinson. This offseason, both have become recipients of the Rockets' relentless drive to clear cap space for their pursuit of Dwight Howard this offseason, as Garcia's team option was declined and Robinson was recently traded to Portland.

Of course, long time fans of the Lakers will remember Garcia more for the confrontations he had with Kobe Bryant rather than his steady and solid play on the wing, as this clip shows in nice detail:

Garcia and Kobe Tussle (via Sacramento Kings)

This naturally means that the two are destined to be teammates, as the grand tradition of Metta World Peace, Matt Barnes, and others indicate. On a more serious note, Garcia played well for Houston and was especially notable in the playoffs for doing quite a good job checking the Thunder's Kevin Durant, hardly an easy task for anyone. Should he bring his shooting on the wing (37.4 3P%), decent handle, and that aforementioned defense to LA, the Lakers will have acquired a nice piece for their wing rotation.

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