First difficulty since Doncic's recruitment, Lakers need to reinforce center
First difficulty since Doncic's recruitment, Lakers need to reinforce center
Blog Article
The Lakers' plan to reinforce the big man has been disrupted.
On the 10th (Korea Standard Time), Yoban and reporter Sam Besseni of "The Athletic" reported that the Los Angeles Lakers' trade in center Mark Williams fell through, causing a setback in the big man reinforcement plan.
On the 1st, the Lakers signed a huge trade on the 1st, sending Anthony Davis, Max Christie and 2029 first-round picks and acquiring Luka Doncic, Max Klee and Markieff Morris. Then, on the 7th, they brought Charlotte Hornets' Mark Williams to secure a young center to grow with Doncic. In exchange for the trade, Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, agreed to give up a first-round pick in 2031, and a pick swap in 2030.
The Lakers expected Williams to be a solid upgrade over Jackson Haze, and the team's leadership, coach J.J. Ledick and LeBron James all evaluated his defensive and rebounding abilities as appropriate for Doncic's combination. However, the trade was officially canceled after failing a physical.
Currently, the Lakers have no choice but to use Jackson Haze as their main center. Haze has not been bad lately, filling the vacancy of Davis, but he is not trusted enough to play as a regular starter. Notably, the Western Conference, which includes the Lakers, has strong big men such as Nikola Jokic (Denver), Chet Homme Gren (Oklahoma City) and Alperren Sengun (Houston), and thus needs to be supplemented.
Reporter Sam Besseni analyzed that the trade failure is a big blow to the Lakers in the short term, but it may have positive results in the long run.
Williams is one of the big men with high potential in the league, but his durability remained a big question. He played in just 85 of 213 games due to ankle, foot, and back injuries in the 2 1/2 years since his debut.
"Williams is a promising player with a standing reach of 9 feet and 9 inches (about 297 centimeters) and excellent under-the-goal finishing ability, but considering the number of games played, the risk is bound to be great in the long run," Besseni said.
Williams will be eligible for an extended contract before becoming a limited FA in the summer of 2026. "There is a possibility that he will perform well playing with Doncic and LeBron, but it can be dangerous to give him a big contract because of his injury history," Besseni said.
The Lakers have already used up a lot of assets through trade. The only assets left after Doncic's acquisition are his first-round pick in 2031, and some pick swaps. "Since the Lakers had fewer options after Doncic's trade, it was too expensive to recruit Williams with limited resources," said Besseni.
He added, "If this trade was made, the Lakers had no choice but to trade Williams again or form a team around him if he was injured."
Finding a new center is now a priority for the Lakers. But as the trade market closes, it must be reinforced in the buyout and FA markets in reality.
There aren't many options available to the Lakers right now. Daniel Tice, Mo Bamba, Chris Bushey and Larry Nance Jr. are mentioned as candidates, but it's unclear if they'll play a decisive role in the playoffs.
"Most of the remaining big men can only play limited roles, and it's rare for players who joined at the end of the season to play important roles in the playoffs," said a subordinate reporter.
Besseni assessed that the Lakers might rather wait until the summer to find better options. He said, "The Lakers are looking at the summer of 2026. If you overdo it this season, it might be a better option in the long run to find a more appropriate FA in the summer or to add star players to join Doncic."
However, it is questionable whether the Lakers will be able to compete with strong teams such as Denver, Boston and Oklahoma City with Hayes as their main center.
"The Lakers need to complement their defense capabilities in the paint zone. Even if they use small lineup, they will be burdened with rebounding and defense," a subordinate reporter said. "Ultimately, the Lakers need to find the right replacement as much as possible for the rest of the year." 온라인카지노
Attention is focusing on how the Lakers will overcome the trade failure and how they will continue their new ideas centered on Doncic.