The Lakers‘ obvious need for a center is hurting their chances of finding one, according to Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints. Sources close to the team and around the league tell Irwin that the offseason pursuit of a big man has been frustrating so far because rival clubs are hoping to take advantage of L.A.’s predicament.
“The worst spot you can put yourself in is trying to negotiate while everyone knows about your desperation,” a former executive told Irwin. “The whole league knows that not only do the Lakers need a starting center and probably a backup, but they need to bring someone in who Luka (Doncic) is going to want to play with. They basically have to hope someone else reaches their current level of desperation so that the talks can be held on even footing.”
Jaxson Hayes, who’s headed toward free agency, took over as the starting center after Anthony Davis was traded to Dallas in February. He put up solid numbers during the regular season, but was ineffective in a first-round playoff loss to Minnesota and wasn’t used at all in the deciding Game 5.
Irwin hears from sources close to the team that the Lakers hope to trade for their starting center and use the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception to sign a backup. According to Irwin’s sources, L.A. has been involved in discussions with the Nets about Nic Claxton, the Trail Blazers about Robert Williams and the Jazz about Walker Kessler. He adds that potential free agent targets include Brook Lopez and Clint Capela.
Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- The Bucks remain confident about keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo and will focus on trades and free agent signings to complement the two-time MVP, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Khris Middleton trade in February moved Milwaukee below the projected tax line for 2025/26, creating access to the $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception. The Bucks also have the $5.1MM bi-annual exception, though ESPN’s story points out that it will be difficult financially to use both exceptions while re-signing Lopez and Bobby Portis.
- The Suns are finding it hard to get value for Kevin Durant because there isn’t an “open market,” explains Brian Windhorst of ESPN (YouTube link). Durant has manipulated the market by insisting that he’ll only sign an extension with Houston, San Antonio or Miami, and Windhorst says that advantage has given those teams leverage to limit their offers. He also points out that Durant is Phoenix’s only major trade asset due to its insistence on keeping Devin Booker, so it’s important to maximize the return.
- The Timberwolves seem more likely to keep the 31st pick in the draft than the 17th, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The first-round pick, which was acquired from New York last fall, comes with a $4.2MM salary, which could hamper the effort to re-sign Naz Reid, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and possibly Julius Randle while staying below the second apron. Hine hears that the Wolves’ front office likes having the first pick in the second round and expects to get a lot of offers between the first and second days of the draft.
A center isn’t going to help Luka and LeBron play defense all of sudden.
Brook Lopez and Draymond Green kinda would. The spacing alone would make things easier on the no-D guys. You aren’t wrong, they need a couple D-only guys to make up for them.
LeBron didn’t play defense when they had Anthony Davis. Why would it change now?
The right center may keep them from having to
LeBron didn’t play defense when they had Anthony Davis. Why would it change now?
Lol, correct. Be plenty of posters of Kessler getting round. One way to get your name constantly on sportscentre.
Anyways, Danny Ainge is never helping the lakers.
They should delete the entire bucks part because the story they linked never said the bucks weren’t trading Giannis and building around him, it was literally a story about hypothetical trades of and around him
Unless there’s a bombshell I didn’t see my understanding is is that the bucks are working with Giannis to see if he wants to stay or leave for a contender
Sad tormented, you are absolutely right: the ESPN story did NOT say what Arthur said it did, which would have been very newsworthy if it were true.
We still don’t know what’s up with Giannis and the Bucks.
I just read it again and I did miss a part that said that the bucks are “looking into” options to compliment so I am half wrong with my previous comment
I only say half because “looking into” has a much different meaning than “will focus”
The section from the ESPN story being referenced above is this one:
“It would be easy for the Bucks to put Antetokounmpo on the trade market, especially in light of Lillard’s Achilles injury and consecutive losses in the first round. However, sources confirmed to ESPN that Milwaukee will be aggressively exploring options in free agency and trades to complement Antetokounmpo.”
Don’t see “looking into” anywhere, and I’d argue that “aggressively exploring” = “will focus on.”
Doesn’t mean they know with 100% certainty that Giannis won’t request a trade, but it sounds like they’re moving forward for now as if they don’t expect him to.
The most logical trade would be Rui, Kleber and a first for Claxton. Brooklyn get a 3/4 in Rui who is nice, Kleber is just salary matching and then a first.
Claxton is great defensively and would be a great fit but they seem desperate to not give up a first or a role player they actually use like Rui or DFS but sometimes you just need to bite the bullet.
I think they end up with Capela in FA on a really cheap deal but he’s not the answer to all their problems. His numbers might be nice but come the first round of the playoffs it’s going to be hard to play him more than 20mins
I don’t think that’s enough for Claxton.
Rui is just a guy who had a nice year.
He’s sort of like Obi Toppin, nice athleticism, is able to make the three, but you just wish they would put it together and be a stud, but of course that’s wishful thinking.
I agree that they will want more for Claxton, maybe another pick or swap. If you remove Rui and his salary then the Lakers have to send out a lot of players to match.
I don’t think you get Capela on a TMLE. If that’s all he gets then there will be tons of competition.
It is not that LBJ doesn’t play defense, it is that at his age, it is very difficult to defend younger players. He is still a threat offensively and is still very strong but his quickness isn’t there anymore.
Robert Williams? Really? Might as well circle back around and trade for Mark Williams in that case.