As Dwight Howard leaves Los Angeles, the Lakers and free-agent center Chris Kaman have a growing mutual interest, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Several other teams have expressed interest in Kaman, including Golden State, Atlanta, Sacramento and New York, sources said.

Discussions are still in the formative stages, but Kaman has a reputation as a hard-working, dependable 7-footer who can fill a needed role.

Kaman played his first eight NBA seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers, and a return to Southern California to join the Lakers has strong appeal to him, a league source told Yahoo! Sports.

Kaman, 31, averaged 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20 minutes a game for the Dallas Mavericks in 2012-'13.