In by far the funniest signing of the offseason so far, Lance Stephenson will join LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers, as first reported by Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania. Stephenson and James have plenty of history, dating back to Stephenson taunting James from the bench in the 2012 playoffs and reaching a high point when Stephenson blew in James' ear on the court in the 2014 playoffs. Five times, they have faced each other in the postseason.

James likely won't answer any questions about any of his new teammates for some time, but he has actually addressed the idea of joining forces with Stephenson before. When the Cleveland Cavaliers were looking for a playmaker in February 2017, Stephenson participated in a group workout and James said he'd be fine with them signing him.

"I just want to win, man," James said back then. "That's all that matters to me. I got no personal problems with nobody."

I suppose James still feels that way and the Lakers aren't that worried about Stephenson getting too aggressive when guarding LeBron in practice. I can't wait to see him commandeer the offense and take an ill-advised shot while sharing the court with James, just to see the best player in the world's reaction. In all seriousness, though, Stephenson is a decent value signing for the Lakers, though they surely would have preferred to get him for the veteran minimum rather than having to use their $4.4 million room midlevel exception. 

Stephenson is a fine pick-and-roll player, a creative passer and a physical, versatile defender. If Los Angeles coach Luke Walton still wants to run a system where everyone is empowered to make plays, Stephenson should fit right in as a bench player. There are issues, though: he can be a ball-stopper and his inconsistent outside shot makes him a less-than-ideal complement to James. 

Last season, Stephenson averaged 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 22.6 minutes for the Indiana Pacers. They declined his $4.3 million team option last week, making him available to the Lakers as a free agent.