On the first night of free agency, Danny Ainge was presumably busy calling a myriad of potential targets, looking to fill Boston’s roster as well as he could. According to SLAM, none of those calls went to Delonte West.

Reportedly snubbed by Ainge on the first night of free agency, West is interested in joining the Los Angeles Lakers and has previously told SLAM he would love to reunite with Mike Brown.

Delonte West may be going Hollywood.

The 28-year-old free agent spent time during the lockout working on a self-produced reality show. Now, according to a knowledgeable source, the guard is entertaining calls from the Los Angeles Lakers.

If he were to sign with L.A., West, who spent the 2010-11 season with the Boston Celtics, would be reunited with Coach Mike Brown, who was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers when West played there from 2008-10.

“I love Mike Brown,” West told SLAM when we spent time with him this past summer. “I mean, he’s a great guy. Too good. what else can you ask from a coach? He tried to do everything to keep everybody happy, keep the personalities happy [in Cleveland].”

Meanwhile, according to the same source, the Boston Celtics did not contact West on the first day that teams were allowed to reach out to players directly (though they have reached out to his representatives).

Call West, Danny. Call him over and over again. Call him when you’re drunk. Call him when you’re sober. Call him when you’re hungry and want a platonic date for dinner. Call him when you need someone to watch the football game with. Call him just to hear his voice. Call him and tell him you like his latest rap song. Whatever. Just let him know you’re interested, Ainge. Delonte West is a winner, he could come reasonably cheap, and the Celtics could really use him. This isn’t the time to play hard to get.

Delonte West, one of my favorite Boston Celtics ever despite his one major bout with legality, is being targeted by the Los Angeles Lakers. (ESPN)

The Lakers have interest in Delonte West, who played for coach Mike Brown in Cleveland and last played for Boston, as a potential fill-in at guard and also are keen on Indiana free agent Josh McRoberts, according to a source with knowledge of their thinking. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported that Denver free-agent guard Arron Afflalo is also on the Lakers’ radar.

The elephant in the room, of course, was Orlando’s 6-foot-11, 265-pound center Dwight Howard, whose contract with the Magic expires at the end of the season. Unless Howard signs an extension with the Magic, the expectation is Orlando will trade him and Los Angeles is a possible destination. Stein and ESPN Insider Chad Ford reported this week that L.A. is expected to offer “some combination” of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom for Howard.

Kupchak side-stepped a direction question about L.A.’s interest in Howard.

“Obviously talking about other team’s players would be considered tampering, so I wouldn’t answer that question,” Kupchak said.

Last offseason, if you can recall, the free agent market for West was very limited because of behavioral issues. Definitely not a veteran’s minimum player, West signed a minimum deal with the Celtics, who were one of few suitors willing to overlook his troublesome recent past.

This offseason, things are probably going to be different. NBA teams know West can play. They know he’s a gamer unafraid of the moment. They know he’s a smart player who can create offense on one end and frustrate offense on the other. And now, after a (mostly) incident-free year in Boston, West’s personal problems are less of an issue.

There’s going to be a market for Delonte West. It already includes the Lakers. The question now becomes whether the Celtics can afford to keep him. Losing West would be a major blow to Boston’s bench, especially if the injury issues that plagued him last season become shelved in the past.

Danny Ainge has a difficult job this offseason. Considering how much money the Celtics have to spend, Ainge more or less needs to pull an entire bench out of his rump.

One piece Ainge would certainly like to retain and rely upon in the coming years is Delonte West. Playing under a veteran’s minimum contract last season (and behaving well, preseason fight with Von Wafer not included), West would have been one of the league’s greatest bargains if he did not suffer through suspension and injuries that limited him to 24 regular season games and kept him from gaining any semblance of rhythm in the Celtics’ system.

West could potentially give Boston a home-town discount this offseason, when he’s a free agent. After all, the team took a chance on him during his lowest point, shortly after he committed a felony, when he faced a 10-game suspension to start the season and questions about his bipolar disorder haunted his value on the open market. A sense of loyalty could lead West to accept a (slightly) lower offer from the Celtics than other teams are willing to throw his way.

But West doesn’t sound like a guy who considers himself a cheap pickup. (Boston Globe — READ THE WHOLE STORY. IT’S VERY WELL DONE.)

“My biggest thing that I haven’t had since I’ve been in the league really is comfort,’’ he said. “I haven’t had anyone say, ‘We actually believe what you can do.’ ’’ …

“Because I was pulled over, now I’m a league minimum player?’’ West said. “I’m one of those guys that have to keep proving myself over and over again. That’s been the story of my life, and that’s OK.’’ …

“I’m in the same category as Jason Terry and Jamal Crawford,’’ he said. “I think my name should be right in that talk. As far as you saying, ‘Let’s get a guy we can put on our bench who can come in and get it done,’ I think I’m right in the same talk with them.’’

West has said multiple times he would like to remain in Boston in 2011-12. That makes sense. He’s comfortable with the players, Doc Rivers understands his value, and Danny Ainge trusted him when other general managers wouldn’t. But West is not a veteran’s minimum player. He won’t be as sought-after as Jamal Crawford this summer (largely due to West’s injury and personal issues, but also due to a lack of production during his 24 regular season games last year), but there are 30 teams in the NBA who could use a player like Delonte West, someone who can create offense on one end and dig in his heels on the other.

Perhaps West gives Boston a hometown discount. But there should be some real competition for his services, and he clearly doesn’t consider himself a league minimum player.

Delonte West’s 13 dependents may not struggle through poverty much longer (kidding, guys). The guard is reportedly receiving interest from the Guangdong Southern Tigers, the Chinese Basketball Association’s defending champions. (Sheridan Hoops)

Including Yi, the defending champions have eight national team players and a number of national youth team players. Their only American player for now is James Singleton, but the club is contacting Rodney Stuckey and Delonte West, one of whom may come to China, sources told me.

The Shanghai Sharks had previously shown interest in West, but he tweeted in August, ““Can’t even get that over seas money. Judge said it’s a no go on leaving the country” and decided to move furniture instead.

I’m not sure the exact terms of West’s probation. China might still be out of the picture. But West is off house arrest and most players would run through a pit of fire to compete alongside Yi Jianlian and James Singleton.

Don’t worry, guys. Another joke. If he did sign in China, West’s contract would prohibit him from returning to the United States until the end of the Chinese season. The rule was designed to keep NBA players from fleeing when the lockout ended, but apparently J.R. Smith wants to return already.

I feel you, J.R. The FIBA three-point line just isn’t deep enough for a gunner like you.

P.S. – For what it’s worth, West tweeted on Nov. 13 that he can’t wait to get back to Boston. Please stay true to your word, Mr. West.

UPDATE (9:04 a.m.) – Guandong reportedly signed Aaron Brooks, meaning West probably isn’t an option regardless of his legal situation.

It normally takes the entire UN translating staff to understand Delonte West’s tweets. Most of them are a combination of gibberish, ebonics and misspelled words. For example: “U in d city tonight….if u see matt grey street glider…with black ape hangers 21 inch blackspokess…..tail pipes dragginn.” If you know what that means, I’m not sure whether that means you’re a lot more intelligent than I am, or a lot less.

But the past two days, Delonte West tweeted some realities of NBA lockout life.

Full disclosure: I have no idea whether West is serious, ever. He got a job moving furniture earlier in the lockout, claiming he needed the money. But I have no clue whether he was serious about needing money. He’s just a quirky dude. It’s entirely possible he got that job as a joke, or he signed some secretive endorsement deal with Regency Furniture where he pretended to work there.

But he’s tweeting realities, even if they aren’t his own realities. I know NBA players made an average of $5 million last season. I know nobody making $15 per hour moving boxes in a warehouse feels bad because 450 millionaires missed paychecks yesterday. But when somebody like Delonte West has a $1.4 million salary, like he did last year, he often also has $1.4 million bills. A lot of these players live lavish lifestyles, sometimes far beyond their means. Within five years of retirement, 60% of NBA players are broke.

I’m not saying you should feel bad for them. If Delonte West can’t take care of his dependents after making $1.4 million last season, that’s entirely his fault. But missing paychecks hits players harder than it probably should.

The Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association wanted to sign Delonte West this season, according to Marc Stein. But West’s legal problems likely make signing in China impossible.

“Can’t even get that over seas money,” he tweeted in August. “Judge said it’s a no go on leaving the country.”

The Boston Celtics might have dodged a bullet here, as long as West re-signs with the team in free agency. The Chinese Basketball Association does not allow NBA opt-out clauses in its contracts, so West would have had to sign with the Sharks for the entire season.

The Sharks have now turned their attentions to Sebastian Telfair. Insert your Telfair joke of choice here.