Lakers’ Pursuit of Cedi Osman Hits a Surprising New Development
A recent report suggested that Cedi Osman, former teammate of LeBron James, turned down an invitation to join the Lakers’ training camp, opting instead to sign with European team Panathinaikos. According to Eurohoops’ Nikola Miloradovic, Osman rejected the offer because it lacked sufficient guarantees.
However, renowned NBA insider Marc Stein has since refuted this claim. Writing in his substack, Stein stated, “It has been reported in Europe that Turkish swingman Cedi Osman turned down a training camp invite from the Lakers before signing with Panathinaikos in Greece, but sources close to the situation told The Stein Line that no such offer was extended by L.A. despite LeBron James’ well-known fondness for Osman dating to their days as Cavaliers teammates.”
Stein also confirmed that Osman’s contract with Panathinaikos is for a single season, with an option to return to the NBA if a suitable offer comes his way.
The Lakers, already at their 15-man roster limit after retaining players like D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, Cam Reddish, and Jaxon Hayes, would have needed to make a trade to clear space for Osman. Therefore, any potential move would have been complicated.
Osman, who played the last six seasons with the Cavaliers, shared the court with LeBron during the 2017-18 season. Last year, he briefly played for the Spurs, but his production dropped to an average of 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game across 72 appearances—his lowest stats since his rookie season.