The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with lingering concerns regarding their frontcourt depth after the team’s shocking trade deadline decision to part with 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis in exchange for ex-Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić, but these issues could be wiped away this offseason.
Los Angeles’ general manager Rob Pelinka will surely be scouring both the trade market and pool of free agent centers come summertime, and he may be able to snag a solid supporting piece from the team’s arch-enemy.
According to recent reports, the Boston Celtics’ soon-to-be unrestricted free agent and 2024 NBA champion Luke Kornet could entertain the thought of leaving the team for a bigger payday. In turn, the Lakers may be named as strong suitors for the reserve big.
“While Al Horford will turn 39 in June, he’s likely to be back with the Celtics,” Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus wrote Tuesday.
Can the same be said of Luke Kornet? The backup center is turning 30 this summer.”
“This may be the best time to turn his productive years in Boston into a contract larger than a minimum somewhere else.”
Kornet has certainly proven to be a valuable piece of a contending team, as the 7-foot-2 paint presence has contributed 5.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 67.9% from the field in just 18.1 minutes of action for the Celtics this season.
As a sneakily-athletic rim-runner and lob-finishing threat, it’s possible to envision Kornet’s fit with the Lakers being seamless when paired with the team’s all-time great play-making duo of Dončić and four-time league MVP LeBron James.
In previous seasons, he’s even experimented with his long-range shooting, boasting a career 32.2% shooting clip from the three-point line through his first eight seasons.
The Lakers may conduct internal discussions regarding several other talented big-men expected to be available this summer, such as the Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner, the Chicago Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic and the Charlotte Hornets’ Mark Williams.
However, if these options are either unwilling to sign on as free agents or Pelinka is unable to swing a major trade for his center of choice, it’s likely that Kornet could be pursued by the storied organization.
