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Luka Doncic against Anthony Davis.
The Los Angeles Lakers are still busy working the phone lines to acquire a starting-caliber center after losing Anthony Davis in the Luka Dončić trade.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Lakers held trade talks with the Houston Rockets.
“League sources say the Lakers have had talks with Houston about 31-year-old big man Steven Adams (who is on an expiring deal worth $12.6 million). And while the two sides have been significantly apart, with no signs that a deal will actually get done, those talks offer some clarity as to what Pelinka has been thinking here,” Amick wrote.
The Lakers are thin on draft capital in their search for center upgrades. They only have one first-round pick (2031), three pick swaps and their 2025 second-round pick left to trade.
While Adams does not warrant their first-round pick, their 2025 second-round pick is projected to fall at the backend of the round, which diminishes its value.
The Lakers were previously linked to Washington’s Jonas Valanciunas, Utah’s Walker Kessler, Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic, Portland’s Robert Williams III and Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe. These options cost more than Adams.
Lakers May Wait Until Offseason For Bigger Move
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers vice president and general manager, hinted at waiting for the offseason to find their long-term center.
“We know we have a need for a big,” Pelinka told reporters during Dončić’s introductory press conference. “The market for bigs right now, leading into the last two or three days of the trade deadline, is very dry. There’s just not a lot available. So maybe we’ll be able to do some stuff around the margins.
“I would say, in terms of a big move for that position, it’s probably more realistic that that would be something that comes in the offseason. But Luka will be at the center of that, as we build for the long term.”
Pelinka said they are looking for “versatility, mobility and a vertical lob threat” for their next center.
“I think that’s a key to the spacing that Luka likes to play with,” Pelinka told reporters.
He also added competitiveness as another trait they are looking for in their new center.
“I think you those are some of the core things there,” Pelinka continued. “Those players are hard to find but we’re going to, we’ll accomplish the task that’s before us. We’ll find a way.”
Small-Ball Lakers?
If the Lakers are unable to find one until the Feb. 6 trade deadline, they will head into the second half of the season with only Jaxson Hayes as their legitimate center.
Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III are on two-way contracts that make them ineligible to be rostered in the playoffs. Their other center in the lineup, Christian Wood has yet to fully recover from the knee injury which sidelined him since Feb. 14 last year.
The Lakers could be forced to play small ball at times with Dorian Finney-Smith, Jarred Vanderbilt or even LeBron James playing center in a pinch.
That will be a huge problem in the offseason if they face the big teams in the Western Conference — Denver Nuggets with Nikola Jokic, Minnesota Timberwolves with Rudy Gobert, Memphis Grizzlies with Zach Edey, Oklahoma City Thunder with Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren and Los Angeles Clippers with Ivica Zubac.