What the Los Angeles Lakers need the most moving forward

March 25th is the deadline for NBA teams to finalize trades. While the Los Angeles Lakers have discussed deals with various teams, it seems unlikely that GM Rob Pelinka will reach an agreement on anything more than a minor swap, and probably not even that.

The reason is simply that the Lakers do not have much to offer teams in return. To obtain an impact player would require either trading away one of their own, which doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense, or mortgaging away the immediate future, which is even less fruitful.

It’s possible Pelinka can get creative enough to package some players together and find a trading partner who will offer something of value in return. But don’t hold your breath because the likelihood of that happening is slimmer than Damian Jones’ waistline.

It is far more feasible that the Lakers will look for help among players who are bought out or waived. But if you believe they’ll come up with a true difference-maker, you probably should think again. Despite what many Lakers fans seem to believe, it is highly unlikely that the team will acquire a player who will propel them to the title.

Instead, they will be adding one or two additional players who hopefully can help the team in a support role(s). There are a couple of areas where they could use additional depth.

First, the Los Angeles Lakers need a big-man.

The notion that the Lakers MUST add a bona fide rim protector is hogwash. It is true that last year in the regular season they averaged a league-leading 6.6 blocks a game. But in the playoffs, their blocks dropped to 5.3 and the team still played stellar defense.

This year the team is blocking 6.1 shots, a stat that has fallen since their leading shot-blocker, Anthony Davis, has missed the last 15 games. But their defensive ranking of 101.0 is #1 in the league and they allow the second-fewest points per game, 106.2. So a rim protector is not the missing ingredient on this year’s team.

Ideally, the Lakers would add a center who’s a good man defender, who can also switch men off of screens, who’s a decent shot blocker and rebounder and who can also hit outside shots, set strong picks and roll to the hoop. But anyone who can do all of that effectively would probably be an all-star, so the Lakers will have to settle for a guy with some of those skills.

Let’s look at the four big men most prominently mentioned.