In an effort to address their clearly lacking center rotation, the Los Angeles Lakers added Deandre Ayton via a two-year, $16.6 million deal earlier this month.
With his top-pick pedigree coupled with the fact that he's the first player since Dwight Howard to average at least 10.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in each of his first seven seasons in the association, many are hoping that LA has finally found its center of the future.
Of course, considering his somewhat limited on-court repertoire and the fact that he's already fizzled out with two different organizations throughout his professional career, Ayton is far from a sure-fire solution to the five spot.
Because of this, Rob Pelinka and company should still have their eyes open for other possible pivot options to bring aboard, even if it's merely just for depth purposes -- let's not pretend that having Jaxson Hayes as their primary backup should make the Lakers all that comfortable.
Fortunately for them, based on recent rumblings, it appears quite likely that one prominent center could wind up becoming available within the next several months and, should this happen, Los Angeles should be eager to pounce.
Lakers must pursue Nikola Vucevic if bought out by Bulls
Veteran center Nikola Vucevic has been a regular resident of the league's trade rumor mill for the better part of the past few seasons, though his departure from the Chicago Bulls has yet to come to fruition.
While he does offer stand-out offensive production as a modern-day center, concerns over his defensive efficiency and age have made the two-time All-Star a hard sell on the market.
Heading into 2025-26, it appears Vucevic remains a desired offload option for the rebuilding Bulls, though the odds of them pulling off a deal that ships him outbound seem to grow slimmer and slimmer by the day.
Because of this, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report is under the impression that the most logical course of action between the two parties is a buyout, something the insider suggests could happen midseason.
Despite his lack of attraction as a trade candidate, should he hit the open waters of free agency, there's no question that Vucevic would be a highly sought-after commodity for title contenders like the Lakers, who are in need of frontcourt help.
While he may be 34 years old, the big man is still a quality starting option at the five, as he's coming off a 2024-25 campaign where he dropped 18.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 53.0 percent from the floor and 40.2 percent from deep.
With his bucket-getting and board-gobbling skills, Vucevic's arrival would have the potential to automatically improve the Lakers' 19 and 26-ranked points (113.4) and rebounds (42.4) per game averages on his own, while having the ability to share the offensive workload with the likes of LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
Now, even though the Lakers and their fanbase may be rooting for the 27-year-old Ayton to finally find his groove as a difference-making pro and prove worthy of his number one overall selection status back in the 2018 NBA Draft, being this club is in an all-out win-now mode and are in need of more heads down low, a chase for Vucevic if and when he becomes available should be a must.