Los Angeles Lakers: 3 big men to target after Anthony Davis’ injury

2. Thon Maker

Maker became a free agent when the Cleveland Cavaliers waived him in mid-January. Just days shy of turning 24, he’s a young athlete who stands at 7-foot-1 and has the ability to rebound and block shots.

Maker can also run the floor and finish strong near the rim, which is something that McGee did well for the Purple and Gold to help make them arguably the NBA’s best fast-break team.

This season, however, Showtime has turned into Slowtime. After ranking second in the league in fast-break points last season, the Lakers are currently just sixth in that category. Although they’ve picked it up lately, that’s still poor for a team whose main players are at their best in transition or early offense.

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There’s an old saying in basketball that you can’t run if you don’t have the ball. Gasol simply hasn’t helped the Lakers enough on the boards, averaging 4.6 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game.

Maker has averaged 8.5 rebounds per 36 minutes in eight games for the Cavs this season. While it’s a small sample space, he’s always been a solid defensive rebounder in his five NBA seasons.

Since he’s young, perhaps being around LeBron James and the Lakers’ championship culture will allow Maker to develop. The past two seasons, he’s shown some signs of developing as a bit of a 3-point threat.