Los Angeles Lakers: 5 steps to building a contender with Kyrie Irving
By Robert Marvi
2. Address the center position
The days of needing a good or great center like Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain or George Mikan may be long gone, but you still need a couple of bigs who will play that position and get the job done.
JaVale McGee had a strong season as the Lakers’ starting center. They need to at least try to re-sign him, as he provided solid rim protection, finished well around the rim and helped them secure their defensive backboards.
Besides that, they need a reliable backup center, as Tyson Chandler looks to have nothing left in his tank, and rookie Moritz Wagner looks like he’s not ready or even talented or skilled enough for that role.
Could the Lakers convince Brook Lopez to leave the mighty Milwaukee Bucks and return to L.A.? How about (I know it sounds like a long shot) getting DeAndre Jordan to take a major pay cut in order to win the NBA championship that eluded him while playing for L.A.’s other team? There should be other options once free agency starts.
The Lakers won’t need much offensive production from the center spot, but coach Vogel does want his defense to start with strong rim protection, as it did in Indiana with Roy Hibbert.