Not too long from now, teams across the NBA will start looking in earnest to make moves in order to improve their rosters ahead of next season. For the Los Angeles Lakers, that will mean going after a legitimate starting-level center.
After landing Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis and Max Christie in early February, they had to make do with Jaxson Hayes, who lacks the size and strength to be a force defensively and on the boards, and Alex Len, who is a zero-impact player at this point of his career, at the 5. That very weak center rotation was likely the biggest reason they got waxed in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.
With executives from across the league meeting this week at the NBA draft combine in Chicago, the two centers on the market most connected to Los Angeles are the Brooklyn Nets’ Nic Claxton and the Dallas Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford, per Dan Woike. Woike also reported on what it would take for L.A. to trade guard Austin Reaves, who took yet another step forward in his production this season.
“People, including the Lakers’ scouts and executives here in Chicago, have openly spoke about the team’s needs at the center position — an obvious priority for Pelinka and Redick,” Woike wrote.
“The team has shown no interest in using Reaves in a trade that nets them anything less than a top-tier big, and there really aren’t any of those available, with the two most common names linked to them in the earliest stages of the offseason — Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton and Dallas’ Daniel Gafford.”
Woike also gave a reality check on the obstacles in the way of the Lakers acquiring either Claxton or Gafford.
“In Claxton, the Lakers would have the prototypical rim-protecting, lob-catching center that’s tailor-made for Doncic. Claxton’s due more than $66 million over the next three seasons and is two years removed from his most impactful stretch as a pro when he averaged 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks on a league-best 70.5% shooting from the field. This season in 70 games, those numbers dipped to 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks with 56.3% shooting.
“An optimistic read on the situation would point to the Nets’ losing as a reason for his dip in production. A pessimist would point to his narrow frame (just 215 pounds), the two straight years in which his numbers have slumped and the high salary.
“Gafford, we know, is a surefire Doncic fit because of their time together in Dallas. He’s about to enter the final year of his deal and plays on a roster with Dereck Lively and Anthony Davis, making it unlikely that there’s more cash headed his way from the Mavericks.
“The trouble, of course, is that people around the NBA wonder how it would look if Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison engaged Pelinka and the Lakers on another trade after the last deal between the teams was so unpopular that it caused protests.”
Other than Reaves, the Lakers will have rookie sharpshooter Dalton Knecht, the expiring contracts of forwards Rui Hachimura and Maxi Kleber and guard Gabe Vincent and their 2031 first-round draft pick to offer in any trade.
In addition to a starting-level center, they also need improved backcourt depth and possibly another 3-and-D wing in order to truly have a good chance of winning next season’s NBA championship. Their lack of bench scoring was another big problem they had in their playoff series versus the Timberwolves.
