One of the greatest fears among Los Angeles Lakers fans has been that Rob Pelinka will wait too long to find the upgrade Anthony Davis has asked for at center and thus fail to deliver. Considering Davis first made the request for help at the position in 2023, that concern is well-founded.
Unfortunately, that fear is becoming more realistic by the day, as the trade deadline nears and the Lakers begin to run out of options.
Davis had kept his requests behind the scenes until recently, when he publicly discussed his desire to spend more minutes at power forward. He spoke highly of the team that's been assembled, but insisted that Los Angeles needed to make a move to put the finishing touches on the roster.
Unfortunately, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Lakers aren't expected to enter the mix for Nikola Vucevic or Jakob Poeltl. Furthermore, they no longer appear to have a chance of acquiring Walker Kessler.
"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."
Stein continued, throwing salt in the wound with an update about Jonas Valanciunas that calls much of what had been speculated into question.
"Washington's Jonas Valančiūnas is another off-mentioned Lakers trade target and would appear to be the most gettable proven big man for L.A. to pursue given all the parameters it has been weighing, but substantial momentum on a Valančiūnas-to-Lakerland deal has yet to manifest."
This is a devastating development that could have the Lakers scrambling for help with less than two weeks remaining until the trade deadline.
Lakers could miss out on Kessler, Poeltl, Valanciunas, and Vucevic
It's admittedly not surprising that the Utah Jazz are reluctant to trade Kessler. At 23 years of age, he's already establishing himself as an elite rim protector and rebounder, posting averages of 11.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.5 offensive boards, 1.5 assists, and 2.4 blocks per game.
The upside of a Davis and Kessler interior pairing was simply unavoidable, however, which had many holding out hope that Pelinka would find a way to bring them together.
Poeltl and Vucevic are also players whom few were mentioning as ideal targets for the Lakers to consider. They're interesting names to discuss, with Poeltl thriving on defense and Vucevic acting as one of the most versatile offensive bigs in the NBA, but interest was never firmly established.
Even still, knowing that three of the best centers to surface on the trade market are potentially out of play is a crushing blow for a Lakers team in need of interior help.
The more concerning development is that the Lakers' long-rumored interest in Valanciunas still hasn't turned into anything substantial. Washington certainly has the leverage in future negotiations, but Los Angeles knows that Davis wants help at center and LeBron James covets Valanciunas as a target.
To not at least thoroughly negotiate a Valanciunas trade to the point of determining its viability is concerning when one considers how long he's been available.
Los Angeles now has mere days until the trade deadline arrives and a franchise-altering decision to weigh. One can't help but fear that Pelinka waited so long to act that he'll be forced to either give up a first-round draft pick or finish the season without upgrading the depth at center.
Optimism says the Lakers will swoop in at the 25th hour and give their franchise player what he wants, but reality might not be as kind if Stein's report proves true.