Vlade Divac has reached an agreement to rejoin the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving the Sacramento Kings after six seasons, an NBA source told the Associated Press.

The deal with the 36-year-old Serbian center was expected to be finalized by today, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier in Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro, Divac said he was leaving the Kings.

“It was a great six years in Sacramento,” he said. “I’m sad that I’m leaving, but the Kings did not show any interest to keep me.”

The Lakers would not confirm the deal with the unrestricted free agent, but said a player announcement was expected today.

The Lakers drafted Divac in 1989, and he spent seven years in Los Angeles until the team traded him to Charlotte for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant. Divac still has a home in Los Angeles, and the Lakers were desperate to sign a center after trading Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat last week.

The source told the AP that Sacramento made an offer to Divac, but wouldn’t match the Lakers’ offer of the midlevel salary-cap exemption, worth nearly $5 million next season, for a player entering his 16th year in the NBA. For the second straight season, the Kings want to avoid the luxury tax, even if it means losing one of their most popular players.