Former LeBron James Teammate Rejected Lakers Offer to Play Overseas

L.A. reportedly reached out to this longtime NBA vet.

Apr 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves the ball against Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and forward Aaron Gordon (50) during the second half in game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Seven-year NBA small forward Cedi Osman has elected to make an unorthodox jump in free agency.

Greek EuroLeague club Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens announced via a press statement that it has signed the 6-foot-7 swingman, 29, to a one-year deal. Team owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos announced the news via his personal Instagram account, per Nikola Miloradovic of Eurohoops.

Osman was selected with No. 31 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but his draft rights were traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers that night. Osman played in his native Turkey until the 2017-18 season, when he linked up with Cleveland hot off its third consecutive NBA Finals appearance.

That year's club was one in transition, as the team was retooling after All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving demanded a trade away from All-NBA forward LeBron James and All-Star power forward/center Kevin Love. Osman did carve out a fringe rotation role for himself that year, appearing in 61 contests (including 12 starts), while averaging 11.0 minutes a night during his rookie season. Cleveland advanced to the Finals for a fourth straight season, but couldn't outshoot an unshakeable Golden State Warriors club led by a whopping four future Hall of Famers in their prime: small forward Kevin Durant, point guard Stephen Curry, shooting guard Klay Thompson, and power forward Draymond Green. The Warriors swept Cleveland to claim their third title in four seasons, all won at the Cavaliers' expense.

James departed for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency that summer. Osman next claimed the club's starting small forward spot in James' absence during the subsequent 2018-19 season, averaging a career-best 13.0 points on .427/.348/.779 shooting splits, 4.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 0.8 steals a night across 76 bouts (75 starts) on a lottery-bound Cavaliers club. Osman spent all but one of his NBA seasons in Cleveland, finishing up his career stateside (for now) as a San Antonio Spurs reserve in 2023-24. Across 476 regular season career games (186 starts), Osman averaged 9.3 points while slashing .432/.357/.711, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.7 swipes per contest.

Apparently, a potential James reunion had been on the table for Osman this summer. Per Miloradovic, the Lakers had a training camp offer for Osman. Given that all of Los Angeles' standard roster and two-way contract spots are occupied, it seems most likely Osman would not have made the team's opening night roster, and would have instead be playing as a relegated affiliate player for NBAGL squad the South Bay Lakers. Because he had no guaranteed path to a regular season roster, Osman opted for the safety of Panathinaikos.

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