Luka Doncic wants a center.
At least, the Los Angeles Lakers want to give Luka Doncic a center. No player in the league is as adoit a pick-and-roll maestro as Doncic, and he has both thrived himself when able to play the two-man game with a rim-running center and he has proven capable of elevating those centers to a new echelon.
That is why, for a brief stretch of games, the Lakers — and honestly, even more so NBA talking heads on ESPN and Fox and anywhere else — became tricked into believing in Jaxson Hayes as a viable starting center option. Doncic created a number of open shots for Hayes in the weeks immediately following the earth-shaking trade that brought the Slovenian star to California, and it seemed like his magic was great enough to turn a 4th big into a starter on a title contender.
Then reality struck, Hayes was marginalized, and it became clear there was a limit to Luka’s impact. Give him broken parts and he can make a rotation player; to get a high-end big man impact, he needed a real starting center to work with.
The Lakers and Rob Pelinka understood this right away; they tried to make a hasty trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, only to use his medical review to nullify the trade after the Trade Deadline. While it meant the Lakers didn’t have a real starting center to go to battle with in the playoffs, it also means they didn’t jettison all of their remaining trade assets for an injury-prone big who doesn’t do the things a Doncic wingman needs to do.
Heading into this summer, the Lakers need to find a center who protects the rim at a high level — when you start Doncic and Austin Reaves the backline needs to be stout — while also setting hard screens and providing vertical spacing as a lob threat and finisher. If that player had soft hands it would only be an added bonus.
Such a center is hard to find, but not impossible; the Lakers don’t need a 40 percent shooter from 3, or someone to create offense in the post. They need defense, rim-running and screen setting. It’s what he had with Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II in Dallas. Who can the Lakers target this summer?
One former All-Star center would be a perfect fit, and his team’s playoff failures could make him available for the Lakers to swoop in and trade for him.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won 64 games this season and were on track to make at least the Eastern Conference Finals, but untimely injuries and cold shooting sent them home early in the second round. Yet again, star center Jarrett Allen found himself marginalized in a closeout game, which may speak to his impact or the fit next to another true center in Evan Mobley.
Such an outcome – early loss, Allen’s shaky play — could motivate the Cavaliers to shop him around on the trade market. If so, the Lakers should pounce. Allen is a strong defender, able not only to wall off the rim but with the lateral agility and timing to switch onto the perimeter and defend in space. He is not going to create offense himself, but a team like Los Angeles has three elite perimeter players to do that. Allen does thrive around the rim, leading the league in field goal percentage and showing robust pick-and-roll chemistry with his teammates.
Allen’s fit in Los Angeles would be sublime, and he could put up career-best numbers running to the rim alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James. His contract is just $20 million this season before jumping up in the first year of a contract extension, making it easier to match his salary this year. The Cavaliers are trying to contend and likely don’t want just draft picks and Rui Hachimura, but a three-team deal could unlock an option that works for Cleveland.
Allen may be too expensive; working out a deal may be too difficult. Another center may shake free on the trade market. If trading for him is a possibility, however, the Lakers should leap at the opportunity. Cleveland’s failure could become their dreams coming true.
