Jordan Hill officially re-signs with Lakers

The Lakers made the signing of free agent Jordan Hill official Wednesday, locking in the 6-foot-10 center/power forward to an estimated two-year, $18-million contract.

“Jordan has been a consistent contributor for us over the last three seasons and we are pleased to keep him in the Laker family,” said General Manager Mitch Kupchak in a statement. “Jordan’s frontcourt versatility is a benefit to our roster and his on-court work ethic is something we value on our team. We hope he’ll continue to work hard and develop as an NBA player.”

The Lakers weren’t able to re-sign Hill until after using their cap room to bring back free agent Nick Young, who returned to the Lakers on Monday on a four-year, $21.3-million contract.

Hill was brought back via his “Bird Rights” after spending most of the last three seasons with the Lakers.

Hill took up $6.8 million of the Lakers’ cap room as a free agent. The Lakers were able to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him at roughly $9 million for the coming season. The team is also reported to have an option on Hill’s second year.

Originally drafted with the eighth overall pick in 2009, Hill averaged 9.7 points and 7.4 rebounds in 72 games last season, making 32 starts during the team’s injury-plagued 27-55 season.

Hill received a sizable raise this summer after earning $3.56 million last season.

Earlier in the day, the Lakers signed power forward Ed Davis to a two-year contract. The team now has 10 players under contract, and approximately $65.4 million in signed commitments, with verbal agreements pending with forwards Wesley Johnson and Xavier Henry.

The franchise is also expected to sign rookie guard Jordan Clarkson (46th overall), increasing the roster to the league minimum of 13 players.

While the Lakers can bring up to 20 players to training camp in October, the regular-season roster limit is 15.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.