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Lakers' Turiaf headed to Golden State - L.A. doesn't match Warriors' offer to forward

Restricted free agent forward-center Ronny Turiaf officially became a member of the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, his four-season, $17-million contract simply too rich for the Lakers to match by the 9 p.m. deadline.

The Lakers now will turn their attention to re-signing another restricted free agent, guard Sasha Vujacic, general manager Mitch Kupchak said. Kupchak had hoped to retain Turiaf and Vujacic, members of the Lakers' so-called "Bench Mob."

But matching the Warriors' offer sheet to Turiaf would have caused further salary cap troubles for the Lakers, who are already $4 million over the luxury tax threshold of $71.150 million. The Lakers have about $75 million tied up in only 10 players so far.

Despite their obvious financial concerns, letting the 6-foot-10 Turiaf leave for Golden State was not an easy decision for the Lakers. Kupchak said he met with Turiaf for more than an hour Thursday, describing their meeting as "emotional   Read Full Article...