Frontcourt help and strengthening the roster for a championship push has been the talk of the town for the Los Angeles Lakers in recent weeks. The sentiment has been around for quite some time, and has only amplified the closer the NBA calendar has approached to the NBA Trade Deadline date of Feb. 6.
Anthony Davis, in particular, turned up the volume on this conversation when the Lakers superstar came out and flat out said the team needs a center. It is tough to blame Davis for being so forward with the thought given what the All-NBA caliber big man has been forced to deal with in terms of his backup situation in recent years.
Lakers reportedly out on two potential center upgrades
With Jaxson Hayes and Christian Koloko failing to deliver the desired results, and Christian Wood nowhere to be found, Los Angeles has a robust trade market of centers available to them before the deadline. However, there are two names NBA insider Marc Stein revealed to be undesired by the Lakers front office.
"They are indeed exploring all of their trade options for a five man after completing the acquisition of swingman Dorian Finney-Smith on Dec. 29.Marc Stein
Yet league sources stressed over the weekend that the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either [Nikola] Vučević or Toronto's Jakob Poeltl ... while oft-suggested Lakers target Walter Kessler of the Utah Jazz is believed to as close to unavailable as it gets with less than 10 days to go before the trade deadline on Feb. 6 at 3 PM ET.
Adding Vučević would be very pricey for the Lakers beyond Chicago's desire to extract a first-round pick in return; absorbing the $21.5 million owed to Vučević in 2025-26 is daunting financially for a team that projects to have Davis and LeBron James taking up two-thirds of next season's salary cap and has strained to stay below the second apron this season.
Poeltl, meanwhile, is a similar case, with a $19.5 million salary looming in both 2025-26 and 2026-27 (player option) and the Raptors believed to be seeking an even richer return than Chicago has sought for Vučević to part with a player many teams believe that Toronto would prefer to keep."
If Vucevic and Poeltl are off the Lakers' trade board, it sounds like the organization wants to pursue a cheaper option financially. There should be some candidates that allow for that, but it is worth exploring that intel with regard to how it could affect a potential deal for somebody like Myles Turner.
Turner represents the best fit of any center that would be potentially available on this year's trade market. However, Turner's cap hit ($19.9 million) comes in around the same price as Vucevic and Poeltl.
Perhaps the Lakers would value a player like the Pacers center higher than the other two. On the other hand, perhaps Rob Pelinka and company will stand by a reportedly cautious approach, and make marginal upgrades, opting for a player like Jonas Valanciunas instead.