4. Boban Marjanovic
- Contract signed: Two years, $7 million
Just like Alex Caruso, Boban Marjanovic has become a very popular NBA player because of the memes and jokes that are made about him (laughing with him, not at him) on the internet. Also, like Caruso, Boban is much more than a meme.
Boban is not someone who is going to shift the tide of a franchise but he is a solid big that can get his baskets when needed and is a great rim protector. While JaVale McGee has been decent all year, he has played really poorly in the bubble and Boban would be a much better version of him.
The Lakers missed out on Boban because they had DeMarcus Cousins and then had to shift to Dwight Howard after the injury. They could never know that an injury was coming, but if they did, Boban would have been a great fit.
There is reason to believe that Boban would have had his best season with the Lakers as well. First of all, the Lakers’ scheme favors him as a rim protector and he would have fit in really nicely. Second of all, bigs always seem to get a really favorable rub from playing with LeBron James, just ask Ivica Zubac.
Boban only gets 9.6 minutes per game but his per-36 numbers are actually really solid. Boban averages 24.7 points (which is inflated because of the small playing time) and 16.8 rebounds per 36 minutes.
If Boban got the 20-24 minutes that JaVale McGee got in the regular season then he would have been a double-double guy on the Lakers, no questions asked.
The Lakers are fine at the center position, even with McGee struggling, but the team would have been better off with Boban instead. And his contract was cheap!