It’s long been the Lakers’ conundrum: Anthony Davis is their best center, one of the best in the league, but he doesn’t like the physicality of playing the five every night and wants to spend most of his time playing at the four next to a more traditional center.
The Lakers are looking for that center, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports, appearing on NBA Today. He also discussed the Lakers bigs on the roster: Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood (who is out until mid-to-late November after having his knee examined) and two-way player Christian Koloko (who has yet to be cleared by the league to play after missing last season missed the entire season due to a blood clot problem).
“Sources tell me the Lakers have been exploring the possibility of adding a big man, a center, to their roster. I don’t know exactly when that will happen, but they have started looking at the market. Christian Wood remains sidelined, he has a knee problem. He recently had surgery so they are waiting for his return. But in the meantime, Jaxson Hayes has really stepped up in training camp. But there is something else to keep an eye on .They signed him to a two-way contract before training camp. He was expected to play a potential reserve role on this roster and our Lakers reporter Dave McMenamin and I heard internally that the Lakers doctors were confident he could be cleared. would be cleared by the league to play due to his blood clot problem, but that is still an ongoing process [Players Association] in terms of his clearance, that will be an important factor to keep an eye on as this was a guy in Koloko who was going to be a potential role throughout the Lakers season.
Wood knows how to get buckets but isn’t much of a defender, while both Hayes and (to a greater extent) Koloko are athletic but raw. None of them can fill the role the team needs right now. The best free agent centers available – Robin Lopez and JaVale McGee – are older and still available for a reason.
Which brings us to the trading market and centers that may become available. A name to keep an eye on is Jonas Valanciunasthe Wizards are rebuilding and will be looking to move on from a few veterans, including him. However, because Valanciunas re-signed this summer, he cannot be traded until after December 15.
The Lakers aren’t the only team looking for a center; New Orleans desperately needs a center, so much so that they might start Herb Jones at 6-foot-1 at the five this season (you could argue that Zion Williamson is really the center at center). That means that if a quality center becomes available, a mini bidding war could ensue to get a deal done.
How the Lakers play the first third to half of the season could determine what they do in terms of trades. If Los Angeles gets off to a fast start and is in the mix for a top-five spot, they can give up those future picks and go all in to win now. But if they’re competing for an 8-9 seed and a play-in spot, the feeling in league circles is that they’ll be much less likely to give up picks that they’ll have to rebuild just to get a little bit better — but no real player. playoff threat for Oklahoma City/Denver/Dallas at the top of the West.
