There is good news and bad news regarding the center position in Los Angeles.
The good news is the Lakers acquired their A-list center, trading for Walker Kessler. The bad news is they lost the rest of their frontcourt depth.
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LA’s starter last year, Deandre Ayton, was traded to the Wizards. Backup big Jaxson Hayes signed with the Jazz. Maxi Kleber is unsigned and could play in Europe next year.
Kessler isn’t the only frontcourt player on the roster. LA signed Sandro Mamukelashvili and center Kevon Looney. Mamu can play the four or the five just fine, but Looney at this point is a very limited player.
If this lack of center depth is obvious to the rest of us, it’s also something the Lakers are aware of. And despite having a full roster at this moment, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic, the team remains interested in trading for a big.
The Lakers are still monitoring the market for big men, team sources told The Athletic. They traded for Walker Kessler and signed Kevon Looney to play center, and Mamukelashvili can play the position, too. The team could address the position either by trade or signing, like with potentially adding Thybulle. The roster is currently at full capacity.
During the regular season, teams can only have 15 players on standard deals. LA has 16 players on the roster after the Matisse Thybulle signing, so they’ll have to trim things down before the start of the year.
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LA can still simply sign a center in free agency, but that would require moving multiple players before the start of the season. This is why a trade where the Lakers take one player and send multiple out is more likely.
Also, the best unrestricted center option at this point is someone like Bismack Biyombo, who is more of a veteran leader than an on-court producer. That’s not the kind of upgrade LA is looking for.
The good news is that LA is still trying to improve its center depth. This is exactly what they should be doing at this point in the offseason. They already spent a ton of money trading for Kessler, and they need to invest in his backup.
It’s taken many years, but the Lakers finally have an elite center. The last thing LA wants is awful options if Kessler has to miss some time.
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You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
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