The Los Angeles Lakers have finally taken action and completed a move that should greatly improve the quality of the rotation. With 2025 just around the corner, Rob Pelinka completed a trade to bring one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA, Dorian Finney-Smith, to Los Angeles.
It was a welcome display of awareness by a front office that opted for dormancy during the offseason, but there's still an Anthony Davis sized problem to resolve.
Davis asked the Lakers in September of 2023 to improve the depth at center to enable him to play more minutes at the 4. He followed up a year later, reiterating his hope that Los Angeles would add a player who could help him down low.
Unfortunately, 15 months after he first submitted his request, Davis is still searching for the support he asked the Lakers to provide him with.
Finney-Smith should make Davis' job easier as a versatile defender who can switch against virtually any player on the court. For as crucial as his addition should prove to be, however, the Lakers still need help at the center position.
There are fewer resources to utilize after sending D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and three second-rounders to Brooklyn, but that doesn't change the Lakers' daunting reality.
Lakers still need a center who can help Anthony Davis
Los Angeles is 18-13, sitting at fifth in the Western Conference and seemingly trending upward. It's won six of its past eight games, as well as five of its last six, with three different players leading the team in scoring during that time.
For as impressive as that is, the Lakers' most disruptive flaw hasn't changed—and it's fair to state that the current personnel lacks what's necessary for true improvement.
Los Angeles currently ranks No. 20 in offensive rebounds allowed per game. It's also No. 21 in second-chance points permitted, No. 27 in opponent points in the paint, and No. 23 in second-chance points scored per contest.
Each of those rankings reflects what Lakers fans have known for multiple seasons: If Davis isn't protecting the rim or either preventing or creating second chances, no one is.
Los Angeles' postseason fate in recent seasons has revealed how detrimental the lack of depth at center truly is. The Lakers have lost eight of their past nine playoff games, all of which were played against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
Jokic is unstoppable regardless of who's defending him, but he's simply the most high-profile name in a long line of 250-plus-pound centers who routinely have their way against Los Angeles.
Finney-Smith should help limit the frequency with which teams create successful dribble penetration, thus allowing Davis to spend more time protecting the rim. Unfortunately, the fact remains that the Lakers get bullied down low on a regular basis due to the simple lack of a heavier big to take on those physical challenges.
It's unclear what options remain after the Lakers parted with the most attractive trade assets they're known to be willing to move, but the need for improvement at center remains.