DJ Mbenga's 2 year deal

Good info from Eric Pincus at Hoopsworld regarding the contract of DJ Mbenga.  Turns out it's a two-year deal, with the first being guaranteed.

"... He'll make $880,658 this season, fully guaranteed.  He's also under contract for next season, although his $959,111 is either partially or non-guaranteed.

At a little over $880, Mbenga is getting more than the league minimum, which means the Lakers lose out on a league payment that goes to teams for players signed with the veteran's minimum (a sliding scale based on the number of years).  The team used their Non-Bird Exception to retain Mbenga, leaving the Lakers with their unused Mid-Level and Bi-Annual Exceptions.

With both Sun Yue and Mbenga locked in for the year -- and with forward Josh Powell guaranteed $200,000 of his deal -- the Lakers have 14 players who are all but set in stone for opening night..."

That leaves one open roster spot, should the Lakers decide to...read full article

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-signed free agent center Didier “DJ” Ilunga-Mbenga, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Mbenga, a 7-foot, 255 pound native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Lakers last season on January 21 and February 1 before signing for the remainder of the year on February 11.

In 26 games with the Lakers, Mbenga averaged 2.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.62 blocked shots in 7.8 minutes while totaling four points and five rebounds in 10 minutes over seven postseason games.

Earlier in the season, Mbenga signed with the Golden State Warriors on November 17 after spending three seasons with the Dallas Mavericks prior to their request for waivers on him October 30. In 16 games with the Warriors prior to his release January 6, Mbenga averaged 1.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.63 blocked shots in 8.1 minutes.

After signing with Dallas as a rookie free agent in 2004, Mbenga, 27, played 79 games over three seasons with the Mavericks, totaling 106 points, 75 rebounds and 35 blocked shots in 374 minutes. In his rookie year of 2004-05, he averaged 4.10 blocks per 48 minutes played while improving to 5.00 blocks per 48 minutes in 2005-06. In 2006-07 he was limited to just 21 games after missing the first 16 games of the year with a left foot tendon strain and suffering a torn right ACL 2/7/07 vs. Memphis.

In 121 career games including two starts, Mbenga is averaging 1.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.50 blocked shots in 5.8 minutes.

The Lakers preseason roster now stands at 19.