Lakers should think twice about writing off All-Star center as trade target

It's too soon to write off a high-level trade target.
ByMaxwell Ogden|
Denver Nuggets v Chicago Bulls
Denver Nuggets v Chicago Bulls | Michael Reaves/GettyImages

As the 2025 NBA trade deadline nears, the Los Angeles Lakers have reached something of an impasse. After two years of making requests behind the scenes, Anthony Davis has taken to a public setting to reiterate his desire to spend more time at power forward.

Unfortunately, the immediate fallout of Davis' controversial but valid approach was a report that Los Angeles is already writing certain trade options off.

Davis' hope to spend more minutes at the 4 is rooted in the versatile nature of his role on defense. He's often left on an island as he attempts to work the perimeter, midrange area, and interior, lacking any semblance of consistent support down low.

According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Lakers have all but officially written off two options who could help in that regard: Jakob Poeltl and Nikola Vucevic.

"Yet league sources stressed over the weekend that the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either Vučević or Toronto's Jakob Poeltl."

While it's easy to understand why the Lakers are reluctant to bring on a player who makes his type of salary, they must think twice before writing Vucevic off.

Lakers should at least kick the tires on a Nikola Vucevic trade

Vucevic, 34, continues to solidify his place as one of the most dynamic offensive centers of his generation. A skilled post scorer who can find the bottom of the net at all three levels, as well as a quality playmaker and generally efficient player, the former All-Star is a high-level target.

Those attributes have translated to 2024-25 averages of 20.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.4 offensive boards, 3.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 1.9 three-point field goals made on .549/.398/.820 shooting.

By adding Vucevic to the mix, the Lakers would be getting a player who could simplify the game for everyone around him. His versatility as a scorer would give the Lakers a much-needed dose of depth in that department, thus alleviating pressure from Davis, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves.

Vucevic's ability to create for others would also help a team that's generally struggled to create offense when it's not initiated by Davis, James, and Reaves.

Some concerns exist over moving Davis to the 4 and thus weakening the Lakers' efforts to space the floor. Vucevic, however, is shooting at a near 40 percent clip from beyond the arc in 2024-25, and has a respectable career mark of 34.6 percent.

While not an elite defender, Vucevic is currently 11th in defensive rebounds per game and 26th in defensive rebounding percentage among players who have appeared in at least 25 games.

The concern in any trade for Vucevic will be asking price, which would ultimately determine whether or not the Lakers should pursue this option. Davis' versatile defense and Vucevic's combination of rebounding prowess and offensive skill, however, would make for quite a combination.

The Lakers have every reason to be cautious with a potential trade for a 34-year-old former All-Star with two years and nearly $41.5 million remaining on his contract, but they must thoroughly explore this option before truly writing it off.

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