Lakers: Earl Clark deal off; close to deal in China?

At the end of November, the Laker land rumor mill was suggesting that the team were perusing a contract with Earl Clark, the forward who spent a year with L.A. in the ’12-’13 season before finding his current home in the D-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

However, contrary to earlier reports, it seems as if all likelihood of an agreement is dead in the water as Clark is closing in on a “lucrative deal in China” instead.

The combo-forward would have been an interesting addition to the Lakers’ roster, but it seems as if the former first-round draftee’s lack of form in the ’13-’14 season has been enough to steer the team away from offering him a spot with the team until the end of the season.

Clark had by far his best season of his career while with the Lakers. In 59 games, he averaged 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 23.1 minutes a night. He was one of the few bright spots in the dismal 2012-13 season that saw the Lakers swept out of the playoffs by the Spurs. That summer, he left for the Cavaliers, where he struggled to find the same form.

After this news, the Lakers frontcourt remains handicapped: Ryan Kelly is out until 2015 and Julius Randle is out for the rest of the season.