The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent guard Thomas Kelati, it was announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Kelati, a 6-5 guard out of Washington State, spent last season playing for Unicaja in Spain where he averaged 11.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 22.5 minutes. Prior to his stint in Spain, Kelati played for BOT Turow Zgorzelec (Poland-DBL) for two seasons (2006-08) where he helped lead the team to consecutive Polish league finals appearances. As a member of Zorzelec, Kelati appeared in 77 games, averaging 15.43 points and 2.96 rebounds. Kelati started his professional career in Belgium in 2005, playing for Dexia Mons-Hainaut.

Kobe Bryant's contract extension negotiations were not a central issue at Lakers' media day, even though Bryant declined to answer questions about it.

Informal negotiations have already begun, and the Lakers are secure in their belief that a new deal will be signed.

Bryant is under contract this season for $23 million and next season for $24.8 million. He can become a free agent by opting out next July, an unlikely possibility because of the expected success of the Lakers and the unpredictable NBA economic climate, where there might not be enough palatable offers for a player scheduled to earn as much as Bryant in the 2010-11 season.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has warned his team that winning a second straight title is tougher than capturing the first.

"I've been telling them [this players] that it's always harder to do it twice," Jackson told the Los Angeles Times. "It's a challenge physically, it's a challenge mentally because everybody's prepared for you, and you're coming off a long season.

"You've done extraneous things and the drive's not there. But we are perfectly capable of doing this again."

Jackson has won consecutive titles on multiple occasions in his career. Overall, he has successfully defended six out of eight championships.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson asked guard Sasha Vujacic to trim his hair prior to training camp.

Vujacic complied with the request. Jackson is hoping that the new look will give the guard, who struggled last season, a fresh start this year.

"Last year, Sasha got injured on the first day of training camp and it literally limited him for three weeks. So he got off to a bad start and never recovered. So we've asked him to cut his hair and he did," Jackson told the Los Angeles Daily News.

"He's going to have a new look. I think it's a total fresh start. I think Sasha played with his hair more than he played on the court (last season)."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson is readying himself for any possible distractions this season.

"Hopefully it'll be a camp in which nothing too exciting is done and we get through this thing," Jackson told the Associated Press. "You have a hell month in basketball and this is it."

The Lakers won't just be defending their NBA title, but also working Ron Artest into the lineup and dealing with Lamar Odom's pending Hollywood marriage.

"On paper we certainly are a better team," Jackson added, "but sometimes it's chemistry that counts between players and how they work together."

Ron Artest is preparing to take the blame should the Lakers not defend the NBA title successfully.

"They should. That's exactly what should happen if we don't repeat," Artest told the Associated Press on Monday.

"They won last year, and I'm the new addition. The fans expect to repeat. Everybody in L.A. expects a second ring. And if we don't then yeah, they should point it right at me, throwing tomatoes and everything."

Artest signed a five-year deal worth about $33 million with the Lakers on July 8.

Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin says the team feels as though they are better than the defending-champion Lakers.

Martin was asked by 104.3 The Fan in Denver what the team learned from their deep playoff run this past season.

"That you have to play on a consistent basis throughout the regular season and just better your position. Just learn from the things we did right last year and learn from things we did wrong, but we had a great run," Martin said on the radio.

"I think guys know that we were right there and everybody in that locker room and in the organization feels we were a better team than the Lakers. Everybody feels we were a better team than the Lakers and no one can tell me anything different. No one."

Mickael Gelabale will join the Lakers in training camp.

"It's a dream come true for me," Gelabale told HoopsHype. "It's a legendary team, with guys like Magic, Kareem, Kobe ... I was a fan of the team as a kid."

Gelabale will sign a non-guaranteed contract with Los Angeles prior to camp.

The former Sonics forward claims he's fully recovered from an ACL injury that cut his most recent NBA stint short.

"The knees are very good. It's 100 percent," Gelabale added. "We had some tests in Los Angeles and both of my knees are very, very strong. I've been working out a lot and now I'm even able to do things I couldn't do before.

Chinemelu Elonu, who was selected by the Lakers in the second round of June's NBA Draft, has signed a two-year deal to play for the Spanish club team Zaragoza.

The deal has an opt-out clause in it that will allow him to leave Spain for the Lakers after the 2009-10 season.

"Just being drafted by them is exciting," Elonu told the Los Angeles Daily News back in July. "Oh man, I was with my family and friends watching the draft on TV. I heard the dude call my name and I was numb. I was very overwhelmed. There's nothing better than to get drafted by the world champions."

Kobe Bryant raised some eyebrows with a comment made at a Chinese technological forum on Friday.

"There are so many metaphors between basketball and life," Bryant said at the event, which was also attended by former president Bill Clinton. "When you win, you have to constantly look for ways to get better. That's what drives me in competition."

Basketball is the most popular sport in China and the country is working hard to raise the profile of its own professional league.

At a press event after the forum, Bryant shocked many by saying that he'd consider playing in China down the road.

"I love playing, it's something I'm open to," he said.