Looks like stretch for Lakers to keep Turiaf

One way or another, restricted free agent Ronny Turiaf will get big money he was seeking after signing an offer sheet Thursday with the Golden State Warriors worth approximately $17 million over four years.

What remains to be determined is who will be paying him, the Golden State Warriors, who signed Turiaf to an offer sheet, or the Los Angeles Lakers, who have seven days to match that offer.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak had no comment upon receiving the paperwork. But matching the Warriors’ offer would seem a stretch for the Lakers, already over the salary cap and at the tipping point for the luxury tax, to more than quintuple the yearly salary of Turiaf, a reserve who averaged 18.7 minutes last year and only 9.8 in the postseason.

The 25-year-old Turiaf’s salary this past season was $770,610.

“It would be presumptuous for me to say what the Lakers will do,” said Mark Bartelstein, Turiaf’s agent, “but they do have a logjam of guys and it’s tough to keep everybody happy.”

For Turiaf, it’s about more than just the money, Bartelstein said.

“Being with the Warriors would be a better opportunity from a playing standpoint,” he said. “He’s a young guy who desperately wants to play a lot of minutes. He wants to find out how good a player he can be. Looking at the Warriors’ front line, there’s nobody like him.”

Three years ago, Turiaf wasn’t thinking about a multimillion-dollar contract, wasn’t concerned with which team he would be playing for. He had a much more basic goal: staying alive. A month after being selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 2005 draft with the 37th pick, the former Gonzaga University star was diagnosed with an enlarged aortic root, requiring open-heart surgery.

He recovered quickly enough to join the Lakers six months later and just completed his third season.

“The Lakers gave him tremendous support during that time,” Bartelstein said, “and he will be forever grateful. He is very close to Mitch Kupchak, who has been an unbelievable friend to him, he is a big fan of (Coach) Phil (Jackson), he’s a very popular guy in the locker room and he loves it in Los Angeles. That all makes it very difficult to leave, but that being said, he’s in the business of basketball and he wants to be the best player he can become.”

Clippers sign Davis

As expected, the Clippers signed free agent Baron Davis to a multiyear contract, bring the two-time All-Star point guard home to Los Angeles.

The 29-year-old Davis averaged 21.8 points, 7.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds for Golden State last season. He helped lead the Warriors to a surprising first-round upset of top-seeded Dallas in the playoffs before they lost to Utah in the second round.

Davis had stints with Golden State and Charlotte during his 10-year NBA career.

Davis was a standout at UCLA for two seasons before leaving school early and joining the Hornets in 1999.

The Clippers also lost their scoring leader from last year, Corey Maggette, who signed with the Warriors.

While the team would not comment on terms of the contract, a person with knowledge of the deal previously told the Associated Press that Maggette would be signed for five years at around $50 million.

The 28-year-old former Duke star appeared in 70 games last season with the Clippers and averaged 22.1 points.

Around the league

Center Andrew Bogut was selected to Australia’s Olympic basketball team today, a day after agreeing to a $72.5 million, five-year contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. … The Houston Rockets signed free agent Brent Barry to a two-year deal.