EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Gary Payton has agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN.com reported Tuesday.
The Lakers declined comment on the report, but a team spokesman told The Associated Press that general manager Mitch Kupchak would make a statement later Tuesday or Wednesday.
The free-agent guard severed ties with his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks, on Monday. He and other free agents are not allowed to sign contracts until July 16.
If Payton does join the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Lakers, they might double their number of superstars for next season — Utah's Karl Malone also is considering signing with them.
Payton's agent, Aaron Goodwin, told ESPN.com that the longtime member of the Seattle SuperSonics has chosen the Lakers.
"He could have taken a lot more money to go somewhere else," Goodwin said. "But he's going to Los Angeles to follow his dream."
Goodwin didn't immediately return calls made by The Associated Press.
Payton, dealt by Seattle to Milwaukee at last season's trade deadline, would be limited to earning $4.9 million with the Lakers in the first year of a multiyear contract.
Malone, a two-time league MVP, reportedly has said he'd be willing to take the veteran's minimum salary — $1.4 million — with the Lakers in order to have a chance to win his first NBA championship.
A lineup of O'Neal, Bryant, Payton and Malone would make the Lakers, who lost to eventual champion San Antonio in the playoffs this year, the favorite to win their fourth title in five seasons.
Malone has mentioned San Antonio, Dallas, Sacramento and the Lakers as possibilities. His agent, Dwight Manley said the power forward has narrowed his choices to a handful of teams.
Manley would not identify those but said, "They would probably be the favorite if he were on the team."
Malone met last week with the Lakers, and Manley acknowledged that they were among the teams his client was considering, depending on who else signs with them.
"It's not just the Lakers that Karl is waiting to see what happens. There are other teams," Manley said. "He wants to make an informed decision and not speculate."
Portland and Miami also were reportedly trying to sign Payton, a nine-time All Star and one of the league's best defensive guards.
He started 28 games for the Bucks, averaging a team-high 19.6 points and 7.8 assists.