Los Angeles Lakers: Reasons for and against trading for Mo Bamba
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers have a need at the center position that has been discussed at length for weeks. Marc Gasol has not had the kind of offensive impact that was expected and his small workload hurts the depth of the position.
The Lakers do not have a traditional backup center behind Gasol with Montrezl Harrell essentially being the backup five. That is fine against most teams, however, against a team like the Denver Nuggets (with Nikola Jokic) or Philadelphia 76ers (with Joel Embiid) that could be a problem.
This potential problem has been accelerated by Anthony Davis’ Achilles injury. While he will be reevaluated in 2-3 weeks, the Lakers have to be very cautious in his return and should get as much depth as humanely possible.
Having that second depth center could make a huge difference in the playoffs, especially if there are any other injuries or if Gasol gets in foul trouble early in any of these games.
Enter Mo Bamba as a potential candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers
Our own Jonathan Kiernan wrote about potential trades involving Wesley Matthews and tabbed Mo Bamba as a great fit for the Lakers. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley agreed with Jonathan, tabbing Mo Bamba as a potential surprise trade target for the Lakers.
Whether or not the Magic want to trade Bamba is how they value his future. Bamba has been on the outside of Orlando’s rotation with Nikola Vucevic leading the way at the center position. The Magic did pick up Bamba’s fourth year, however, they are still only playing him 8.6 minutes per game.
Vucevic is under contract for another two seasons and Khem Birch is getting more minutes than Bamba. For the Magic, it might make the most sense to capitalize on his potential now before it is too late.
It certainly is an interesting situation and the Los Angeles Lakers are not the only team potentially in on Bamba. Here are the reasons for and against a Bamba trade and whether or not I personally think a deal will go down.