When you have a star-studded big three like the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to retain this offseason, with LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Luka Doncic, rounding out the roster can be tough. Having to pay three players big-ticket salaries is part of why LA was so thin off the bench and at center.
We've seen a trend take over the league lately: employing a win-by-committee strategy at the center spot. What I mean by that is having two or three centers that are solid and bring different skillsets and styles. If that is the path Rob Pelinka picks when addressing the Lakers' hole at the five spot, Toronto Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili should be an obvious target.
Mamu finished top-10 in the Sixth Man of the Year race this past season and is set to have a player option worth $2,631,405 this offseason, which he is expected to decline. He played a massive role in the Raptors reaching the postseason this past season.
Mamu serving as a reliable floor spacer and scoring punch off the bench throughout the season. In his fifth year in the NBA, he averaged 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals (steals + blocks) per game while shooting an efficient 52.3 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three.
Sandro Mamukelashvili could be perfect for the Lakers
For a Raptors team that lacked perimeter scoring, Mamu was an incredible surprise, and he could look to replicate that success in LA next season. The difference is that this time he would have two elite playmakers in Bron and Luka feeding him the ball in the pick-and-pop or on the trail.
It would be wrong not to touch on the postseason and how Mamu did get played off the court in the Raptors' matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In all seven games of that series, he struggled to find a flow offensively and was outmatched from a size perspective by the Cavs frontcourt all series, leading to easy looks at the rim in his minutes. That being said, he also didn't have any real backup or a change-of-pace option when he subbed off.
The Raptors mostly ran out another undersized center in rookie Collin Murray-Boyles. When they didn't, they were putting out Jakob Poeltl, who moves like he is stuck in quicksand.
In LA, the idea would be to pair Mamu with a rim-running, giant, lob threat in the same way the Boston Celtics rolled with Neemias Queta and Nikola Vucevic or Luka Garza this past season. Being able to pair Mamu's unique floor spacing ability and finesse-driven downhill scoring style with a monster rim protector could give JJ Redick the versatility he's been looking for in the frontcourt.
It is time the Lakers join the 21st century and add a floor spacing five-man this summer, and there are very few options better than Mamukelashvili. If he is paired with the proper running mate at the five spot, LA's versatility could hit a new level in 2026-27.
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