Lakers Acquire Corie Blount From Bulls

The Lakers, hoping to strengthen their front line, Friday acquired reserve power forward Corie Blount from the Chicago Bulls for undisclosed future considerations, returning the Monrovia High and Rancho Santiago College product to Southern California.

Blount was a first-round pick, 25th overall, by the Bulls in 1993 after teaming with Nick Van Exel at Cincinnati. In two pro seasons, he averaged 3.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11.6 minutes; in 1994-95 he was fifth on the team in rebounds and fourth in blocked shots despite averaging only 13.1 minutes.

“We’ve made it one of our top priorities to improve our front line during the off-season,” Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “Corie’s acquisition will certainly help in that department, and we’re happy to have him on our team.”

Blount, 26, was 6 feet 5 as a senior at Monrovia but became a junior college All-American at Rancho Santiago and had grown to 6-10 by the time he left Cincinnati. Now 242 pounds, he figures to challenge Anthony (Pig) Miller for minutes as Elden Campbell’s backup at power forward, though the Lakers are expected to be active in the free-agent market when the lockout that began at 12:01 this morning ends.

Miller, a fan favorite who averaged 11.5 minutes as a rookie, was given a $187,500 qualifying offer before the cutoff of business. That enables the Lakers to retain the right of first refusal on the restricted free agent.

Another forward, George Lynch, underwent surgery Wednesday at Centinela Hospital Medical Center to correct a stress fracture of the right foot. The operation became necessary when the injury did not heal on its own.

He sat out 23 games during the second half of last season. Lynch returned and played with the fracture, making a contribution in the playoffs. He is expected to be sound by training camp.