Another Los Angeles Lakers game, another example of the Kevon Looney minutes being dreadful for the team. Every brief stint with Looney on the floor has felt too long. That was once again the case for the Lakers in their competitive 136-129 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
In the five minutes Looney played during the second quarter, the Lakers center posted a nothing burger apart from two personal fouls. It resulted in his brief time on the floor featuring a plus-minus of -8. At some point, you have to wonder when JJ Redick finally pulls the plug on playing him.
The problem with that is the lack of alternatives. Featuring Sandro Mamukelashvili more at the five feels like the obvious out, but the Lakers may be waiting for the added reinforcements of Adou Thiero at the forward spots to fully embrace doing only that. Even then, there are just going to be times when Los Angeles needs a true center out there who is not Walker Kessler.
Looney cannot be it. Nothing about the early parts of the season have suggested otherwise. Rob Pelinka making a trade this early in the year would be unlikely. The easiest path to bringing in a new body comes from taking a swing on a center who would be eligible for a two-way contract.
One of Chris Mañon, Arthur Kaluma, or AK Okereke could be axed by the Lakers for center help
Surely there is a young and bouncy center out there somewhere who could come in and play a shift or two on the court for the Lakers. Redick is not asking much more than that of Looney right now. It just continues to painfully stick out just how bad those minutes are for Los Angeles.
If Pelinka and the scouting team can identify a center on the outskirts of the NBA who would be two-way eligible and is ready to contribute, that is a risk worth taking. That is still true even if it meant giving up on one of their current guys signed to a two-way deal. The question is who.
It has been said before and it will be said again that Chris Mañon is the safest of the bunch. The Lakers guard has shown promise as an NBA-level bench piece. It is worth seeing out whether Mañon develops enough offense to be a contributor with the second unit one day.
That puts Arthur Kaluma and AK Okereke under the spotlight. Do the Lakers have a preferred forward of the two?
Kaluma's strong summer league play gave Los Angeles good reason to elevate him to a two-way deal. However, they did also look into adding Pete Nance recently. That is notable considering the overlap in skills he has with the Lakers forward.
Okereke has not shown off a ton in the opportunities fans have gotten to see him on the court between summer league play and preseason. Perhaps the Lakers internally like the upside there beyond what the tape has produced.
Either way, if Redick continues to be insistent on featuring Looney and the veteran center keeps failing him, one of those two-way guys could easily find their job in jeopardy in the near future. Finding help in the frontcourt on a low-commitment deal can quickly become a high priority in Los Angeles.
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