Anthony Davis injury changes timeline for upgrade Lakers can no longer put off

Stop me if you've heard this before: The Los Angeles Lakers are in the market for an upgrade at center to honor a well-documented Anthony Davis request for help. It's been the steady theme along the rumor mill for over a year, yet Rob Pelinka has yet to actually get something done.

Unfortunately, the Lakers' indecision has come back to bite them as a glaring flaw on the court has become a secondary issue behind a now pressing matter.

Davis has been playing at an MVP-caliber level in 2024-25, leading the NBA in scoring and continuing to meet the All-Defense standard. Unfortunately, the Lakers have continued to struggle to supplement his talent with the ideal pieces to yield consistent results.

Those woes reached a new low when Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Davis is currently dealing with plantar fasciitis—an issue that could plague him throughout the 2024-25 campaign.

The news of Davis' injury shines the light directly on Pelinka failing to provide the Lakers with the type of support his franchise player continues to ask for.

Lakers can no longer be patient in pursuing help at center

Jaxson Hayes has thus far played better than he did in 2023-24, and Christian Koloko has intriguing upside. Neither player is a proven commodity, however, and they both have relatively thin frames and offensive limitations that hinder their fit within what Los Angeles needs from a player at the 5.

Those are qualities that can be addressed in time, but the Lakers continue to hemmorhage second-chance points whenever they play a center above 250 pounds—and Davis' injury doesn't help.

Even if Davis plays through the pain, the Lakers must find a way to simplify the game for him to keep him as healthy as possible. Hayes and Koloko have potential, but the second unit can't buy a bucket and teams continue to exploit Los Angeles' lack of interior depth.

If Pelinka is serious about giving the current team a genuine chance to win at the highest level, then he needs to act as quickly as possible and bring in a proven center who can simplify the game for Davis.

Intriguing options exist around the NBA, including Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela and Washington Wizards big man Jonas Valanciunas. The asking price could be steep, but the Lakers have delayed the process long enough to be the source of their own misery on that front.

Pelinka shouldn't pay a price that could set the organization back, of course, but there's a glaring need for help at a position that's been thin, if not outright weak, for multiple seasons.

Continuing to fail to provide help at center would be tantamount to increasing the odds of Davis aggravating his injury. Bringing in a player who can help take some of the interior workload off of the franchise player, meanwhile, would provide head coach JJ Redick with more options in the way he schemes to preserve his superstar's health.

Even if Davis were at 100 percent, there's simply no way around the fact that the franchise player has requested help for multiple seasons and it's thus far fallen on unwilling ears.

That trend must end if the Lakers are going to realize any semblance of their potential in 2024-25.