Goga Bitadze spent the 2024-25 NBA regular season carving out an important role for himself with the Orlando Magic. By the time of the NBA Playoffs, it did not matter. Bitadze barely saw the court in the postseason for the Magic. That does not have to be the case with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In another chapter of the search for quality center targets, Bitadze enters as a very strong and very underrated candidate. There are numerous reasons as to why Rob Pelinka should not hesitate to pick up the phone and talk with Anthony Parker of the Magic front office.
Pursuit of Bitadze ticks all the boxes
The 2024-25 campaign was the best regular season of Bitadze's career. The soon-to-be 26-year-old enjoyed career highs in several statistics.
Bitadze posted his best marks as an NBA pro in the following categories: points per game (7.2), field goal percentage (61.1), true shooting percentage (63.1), rebounds per game (6.6), offensive rebounds per game (2.4), assists per game (2.0), blocks per game (1.4), steals per game (0.7), win shares (5.8), and plenty of other categories that would take up half of this page.
As a result of his productivity, the Magic center averaged a career-high 20.4 minutes per game, and even started the most games of any season he's played, with 42 under his belt in 2024-25.
The Lakers' interest in him should come for his finishing ability, rebounding capabilities, and rim protection. Ideally, Bitadze would be viewed as a backup center option. However, the Georgian big man has clearly proven capable of slotting into the starting lineup when needed.
Bitadze led the Magic in offensive rating per 100 possessions during the regular season. The sixth-year pro was also second on the team in defensive rating per 100. To add to that, Bitadze led Orlando in win shares per 48 minutes with a mark of .195. The former first-round pick also ranked third on the team, trailing only Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, in value over replacement player.
Despite so many metrics suggesting Bitadze should have had a sizeable role in the postseason, the Magic center was shunned to just three appearances where he averaged 3.7 minutes per game.
For a second straight day, #Magic center Goga Bitadze is the last Orlando player inside TD Garden after the rest of his teammates departed for the team hotel.
— Mason Williams (@mvsonwilliams) April 22, 2025
Here he is shooting spot-up threes: https://t.co/BFqtw1dF6F pic.twitter.com/5BWDIBG3zo
Ignoring Bitatdze in such a way should suggest that a phone call from Pelinka would not be quickly dismissed. With the big man slated to only make $8.3 million in 2025-26, this should not be a difficult avenue to explore in the search to find a package suitable for both parties involved.