The Los Angeles Clippers might have lost backup point guard Darren Collison to an agreed-upon three-year, $16 million deal with the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, but the Clippers might not have to look too far for a potential replacement.
The Clippers have expressed interest in Los Angeles Lakers free agent guard Jordan Farmar, multiple league sources told ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Farmar, 27, averaged 10.1 points and 4.9 assists for the Lakers last season while shooting 43.8 percent from 3 after leaving more than $3 million of guaranteed money on the table in Turkey to leave Europe and rejoin his former team. While the team was impressed with Farmar's maturity and leadership abilities since he last left them in the summer of 2010 following back-to-back championships, Farmar's season was a frustrating one overall as he missed 41 games became of a variety of groin and hamstring injuries.
The Lakers have already expressed interest in Farmar as well, but their plan at point guard for next season is still up in the air with 40-year-old Steve Nash on the books for $9.7 million, Kendall Marshall expected to be retained on a non-guaranteed deal worth approximately $915,000 and rookie Jordan Clarkson, a combo guard out of Missouri, added to the mix after L.A. acquired him from Washington on draft night for $1.8 million.
Farmar has also heard from a "few other teams" and is "going through the process" of free agency, according to a league source, knowing full well that some of the big-ticket free agents such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are causing many teams to freeze on smaller transactions until those players' destinations are settled.
The Lakers also have expressed interest in another former point guard, Steve Blake, according to a league source. L.A. dealt Blake to Golden State at the trade deadline in February, saving the team $4 million in salary and luxury taxes, while also netting an intriguing young player in Kent Bazemore in the process.
Blake is one of several former Lakers, including Charlotte free agent Josh McRoberts and Oklahoma City free agent Caron Butler, that L.A. has on its radar.