The Los Angeles Lakers’ number one free agency need right now is another center.
The Los Angeles Lakers have improved by leaps and bounds this offseason, which is saying something considering the team won the NBA Championship last season in fairly easy fashion, only losing five games in the NBA Playoffs.
The center position had undergone a big overhaul as a result. Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee are out and Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell are in. That is a bonafide improvement, but the work is not yet complete.
The Los Angeles Lakers absolutely should be looking to add another center to the roster. For quite some time, that extra center was believed to be DeMarcus Cousins, although he signed with the Houston Rockets.
It is not a huge pressing need but it is still a need. Here is why.
1. The Los Angeles Lakers need one more traditional center for depth
The Los Angeles Lakers do not have another traditional center on the roster outside of Gasol, whois getting up there in age and cannot play the bulk of minutes that he could three years ago.
Harrell can play center, as can Anthony Davis and Markieff Morris. However, all three players are better utilized when they get more minutes at the four with Morris even being a wing option for the team.
Simply put: the team needs one more traditional center. They do not have to get a big number of minutes and they could serve more as a just-in-case option if Gasol gets hurt.
Playing 10-15 minutes per game in the regular season would be the ceiling for an additional center but that is more than enough to justify signing someone to a small, one-year minimum deal.
It is more than just a roster need, though. When we survey the potential options, it is clear that the Lakers probably should strike now.