Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler are the two best centers available in free agency. There is no doubt about that. Considering the Los Angeles Lakers have money to spend, the pair of restricted free agents have been front and center of the wildest thought experiments in Hollywood.
That much is fair. Even with his playoff struggles, Duren was still someone an All-NBA Third Team member based on the 2025-26 regular season, and fits the profile of what a Luka Doncic center looks like on offense. Kessler similarly also offers two-way upside at that spot for the Lakers.
However, neither of their current teams will be tremendously willing to part with their premier talents. The Pistons and Jazz are not just giftwrapping these guys to the Lakers. That is why Rob Pelinka and company should do their due diligence on the next bunch of names who should be gettable.
Daniel Gafford
Reuniting Doncic with a known commodity in Daniel Gafford has been an idea that refuses to go away since Luka's departure from the Dallas Mavericks. There may finally be reason to believe it could happen this offseason.
The longstanding belief was that any Mavericks trade with the Lakers would be a bad look on the franchise in Dallas, given their recent history with the lopsided Doncic trade. However, there is a new regime running the operation in Texas.
After Jason Kidd's firing, every decision-maker — that is not an owner — involved in the Doncic deal has been removed from the Mavericks. There is a clean slate in Dallas.
With Masai Ujiri in charge, there may be an added willingness to do business with the Lakers, assuming the price still favors the Mavericks enough to justify some spotty optics. If Los Angeles can make it worth their while, Gafford can go back to the job he loved of catching lobs from Luka and protecting the rim on the other end.
Jarrett Allen
Down 0-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers should be expected to make changes in the offseason to escape the dreaded second apron. The Lakers can throw themselves into the mix like hungry vultures with their looming cap space.
Jarrett Allen has long stood out as an odd man out in Cleveland. NBA insider Marc Stein could not help but wonder if his time to find a new home had finally come.
"What is the move Cleveland is going to make to get themselves out of the second apron," Stein asked. "Will this finally be the offseason that they trade Jarrett Allen? Because you know that phone is going to be ringing."
The Lakers should be one of those teams making a phone call. Allen's proven effectiveness with James Harden, since his trade deadline acquisition, should offer proof of concept as to why the Cavs center would be effective with Doncic.
Allen can defend the paint on defense, while positioning himself for scoring opportunities out of the pick and roll on offense. The former All-Star could be more than worth it if the Lakers are acquiring him at a buy-low point of his career.
Mitchell Robinson
If the Lakers were going to simply look elsewhere, other than Duren and Kessler, in free agency, then Mitchell Robinson is a player who is worth doing homework on. The counting stats don't do him justice, but the New York Knicks center has been very impactful off the bench amid the playoffs.
Robinson's per-36 averages include: 13.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, including 5.9 on the offensive glass, 1.7 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 75.0 percent from the field.
Granted, Robinson will not find himself playing 36 minutes with regularity anytime soon. That would be a death sentence for the Lakers, considering his unfortunate injury history.
However, if the Lakers can pair Robinson with another capable center in the frontcourt, the Knicks big man can serve in the type of one-two punch that Doncic had in Dallas. That would be a solid offseason win for Los Angeles.
Add us as a preferred source on Google