Los Angeles Lakers have admitted that they were surprised to acquire Carlos Boozer after he was waived by the Chicago Bulls.
The power forward landed in LA after the team made a $3.25m [£1.9m] bid for him.
General manager Mitch Kupchak told reporters: "Fortunately for us and unexpectedly for us, our bid was the highest bid and we were awarded Carlos. Not for a second did we think that he'd be available to us.
"Personally, I know he's going to have a great year this year and, at his age, there's no reason why he can't play three, four, five more years and I think that's his expectations as well."
Boozer added: "I think that we can take advantage of it with our lineup that we have. We have a lot of athleticism, a lot of young guys and we also got Kobe coming back, which I'm excited to be playing with him.
Boozer has also previously played for Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Sian Cowper
