Given their shortcomings against the Timberwolves, with Rudy Gobert enjoying himself in the last game, the Lakers have realized that they need a talented center. Jaxson Hayes doesn’t have his coach’s confidence, while Alex Len and Christian Koloko haven’t achieved much in the regular season.
So for the Lakers, there’s no need to dither too long: recruiting a 5 is necessary, and if possible with a trade. It’s the best way to get a player with talent, not someone who’ll come in to wax the bench. The Angelinos have the assets with Austin Reaves and even Dalton Knecht, already traded in February before the deal was cancelled.
Knecht is almost certain to be part of a summer swap. We don’t yet know for which player, but there are several possibilities. Daniel Gafford or Nic Claxton come to mind, but the name of Kristaps Porzingis has just been mentioned by an insider. A meeting in sight in the City of Angels?
Porzingis’ salary is quite high at 30 million for next season, which means the Lakers will have to make an effort. Not sure that Brett Siegel’s sentence will please many fans in Los Angeles, but he did point out that the Latvian has played with Doncic in the past, on the Dallas side. So is this really a bad idea?
It sounds like a Porzingis move wouldn’t be a bad idea for Siegel, although his contract could certainly pose a problem for a successful trade. But knowing that he has an expiring deal, the former Knicks member could be traded to the Lakers… or elsewhere
