There are now nine newcomers on the Los Angeles Lakers roster since last season came to its turbulent end. The team hopes the latest additions are the final pieces for a championship run.

Robert Horry, who figures to start at small forward, and Joe Kleine, a big body who will back up Shaquille O’Neal, make their first appearances as Lakers tonight against Vancouver.

Horry was the key figure for the Lakers in a four-player trade with Phoenix that sent high-scoring small forward Cedric Ceballos back to the Suns along with reserve guard Rumeal Robinson.

The last two seasons, Ceballos led the Lakers in scoring. But as general manager Mitch Kupchak said in discussing the trade, Horry is a better fit for this team. And not just because at 6-foot-10, Horry is 3 inches taller than Ceballos.

The Lakers (27-10) have plenty of offense. They want defense. And Ceballos didn’t always provide that. In fact, Ceballos often watched from the bench during the playoffs the last two seasons.

Ceballos, 27, injured his right knee Nov. 13 at San Antonio in what turned out to be his final game as a Laker. Without him, the team is 22-7, and has been especially hot lately, winning eight of its last nine.

“I don’t think it will affect the balance of the team,” Eddie Jones, the Lakers’ second-leading scorer, said of the trade. “Horry is a good person. Horry won two championships (in Houston) and knows what his role is.

“If he comes in and everybody lets him know what needs to be done, everything will be fine.”