Los Angeles Lakers: Ranking the cheap free-agent center options

By Jason Reed | Jun 27, 2021

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(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

4. JaVale McGee

While it might have been a mistake, you can’t blame the Los Angeles Lakers for trading JaVale McGee away to open up space for Marc Gasol. Everyone loves to play the hindsight game while pretending that they were not excited for Gasol to be a Laker.

The ceiling was perceived to be higher with Gasol but the struggles he saw in the Orlando bubble continued into the 2020-21 season. He also made the Lakers more dynamic, adding a playmaking aspect as well as the ability for the position to stretch the floor.

It definitely makes sense on paper to go after Gasol as he helped the team stop clogging the lanes for LeBron to drive to the hoop. The real mistake with the Gasol move was not keeping another traditional center on the roster to give that rim protecting and rebounding presence.

Montrezl Harrell was not that and with Gasol’s struggles, the Lakers really had no one. If the team would have somehow kept McGee and brought in Gasol then it would have been a perfect pairing.

Perhaps they can run that pairing in the 2021-22 season as McGee is a free agent. Will McGee return to the team that traded him? Only time will tell, but the Lakers would know exactly what they are getting out of JaVale and there is nothing wrong with that.

Are there better options? Sure. Is McGee a safe option? Absolutely.

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