Pau Gasol And Lakers Agree To Contract Extension

It looks as if the Lakers are working quickly to lock up their big name players. Pau Gasol has agreed to a contract extension that would keep him in Los Angeles through the 2013-2014 NBA season, the LA Times reports:

Lakers forward Pau Gasol has agreed in principle to an extension that would keep him under contract through 2013-14, and Kobe Bryant has had ever-improving discussions on a contract extension that would keep him with the Lakers for the same period.

On Friday, Gasol smiled and said, "I haven't signed anything yet," but it was merely semantics, the stroke of a pen probably completing his extension within a few days after the Lakers' trip ends Sunday in Detroit, according to sources close to the negotiations but not authorized to speak publicly.

Gasol, 29, made the Lakers instant championship contenders when he was acquired in February 2008 from the Memphis Grizzlies, but his current contract expires after next season. He is making $16.5 million this season and $17.8 million next season, though a three-year extension would net him an additional sum of up to $64.7 million, depending on NBA salary-cap figures to be determined in 2011.