Lakers, Turiaf agree to deal

The deal ends any speculation that the former Gonzaga star would sign with a professional club in Spain.

Turiaf, who played nine games with the Yakama Sun Kings of the CBA, underwent open-heart surgery during the summer to repair an enlarged aortic heart.

He was selected in the second round (37th overall) in this past June’s draft. As a senior with Gonzaga last season, the 6-10 Turiaf was named West Coast Conference Player of the Year after he averaged 15.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 blocked shots.

The 23-year-old Turiaf, who grew up in the Caribbean, finished his collegiate career as Gonzaga’s all-time leader in free throws made (643).

Also on Monday, the Lakers waived guard/forward Laron Profit.

Profit was obtained by the Lakers as part of the trade that brought Kwame Brown to Los Angeles from Washington for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins.

The Maryland product played in 25 games with the Lakers before suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon of his left foot on December 20. He was averaging 4.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game before the injury.