Lakers Never Actually Offered Camp Invite To Cedi Osman

Reports have surfaced that the Los Angeles Lakers extended a training camp invitation to free agent wing Cedi Osman, who signed in Greece.

But those reports aren’t true, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

“It has been reported in Europe that Turkish swingman Cedi Osman turned down a training camp invite from the Lakers before signing with Panathinaikos in Greece, but sources close to the situation told The Stein Line that no such offer was extended by L.A. despite LeBron James‘ well-known fondness for Osman dating to their days as Cavaliers teammates,” Stein wrote.

As Stein added, the Lakers don’t really have any money to add a veteran free agent, so Osman coming to camp wouldn’t make sense — or cents.

“Sources say that the 29-year-old, who played in San Antonio last season, signed a one-year deal with Panathinaikos in hopes that he can play his way back to the NBA next season,” Stein wrote.

Osman is 6-foot-7 and appeared in 72 games with the San Antonio Spurs last season, averaging 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists, shooting 47.9 percent from the field. Before that, he spent six years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging no less than 10.5 points from 2018-22.

He was originally selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round (31st pick) of the 2015 NBA Draft, then immediately traded to the Cavs. He remained overseas for his first two professional seasons, with Turkish club Anadolu Efes, before joining Cleveland in July 2017.

He signed an extension with the Cavs two years later, then was part of a three-team trade with the Spurs and Miami Heat last offseason. That deal sent Osman and forward Lamar Stevens (and a 2030 second-rounder) to San Antonio, a 2026 second-rounder to Miami, and guard/forward Max Strus to Cleveland.

Osman appeared in 476 regular-season games during his seven years in the NBA, averaging 9.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.

The Lakers are coming off a 47-35 season in which they lost in the first round of the playoffs. They remain one of three teams that have not signed an outside free agent to a standard contract (joining the Cavs and reigning champion Boston Celtics).