The Los Angeles Lakers made a flurry of moves at the NBA trade deadline to improve the roster and one of the moves was getting a discount version of Myles Turner, Mo Bamba. While Bamba flashed at certain points, his first season with the Lakers is not going as planned.
Bamba sprained his ankle against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday and is going to miss at least four weeks because of it. This pretty much puts an end to his regular season and could impact his availability if the Lakers make the NBA Playoffs.
Los Angeles still has an open roster spot and with Bamba out, could benefit from simply adding a body with size to the roster in case of emergency. The options are not great but there are options.
5 centers the Lakers can sign after Mo Bamba’s injury:
5. Serge Ibaka
Serge Ibaka was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks after the trade deadline and still has not found a new home in the NBA, which is indicative of what he can provide at this point in his career. But then again, the options available to the Lakers are very limited.
What makes Ibaka an intriguing potential addition is his playoff experience and how he can help the young players on this roster. Outside of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers do not really have many true vets on this team and just having Ibaka in the locker room can help.
Jared Dudley had an extremely positive impact on the 2020 title team and Ibaka could do the same for the Lakers. When he is actually on the court, he is someone who the Lakers can simply throw at Nikola Jokic to rough him up for five minutes in an attempt to slow him down.