The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off the biggest trade in NBA history, adding Luka Doncic and sending Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks. But they aren’t done. They can’t be. Trading for Doncic just set up the Lakers for the next decade, but in the short term, their current roster construction no longer makes sense.
Doncic is a phenomenal player and a generational talent, and the deal was absolutely worth it, but giving up Davis means they now have a massive hole at the center spot. Jaxson Hayes isn’t a starting-caliber center, let alone a guy who can carry the load at the five.
And the Lakers know that.
Lakers planning to trade for a center, giving Luka Doncic what Anthony Davis always wanted
According to an article from The Athletic, written by Christian Clark, Jovan Buha, and more, the Lakers are now exploring potential trade options for centers. And the irony of that rumor cannot be ignored.
“We know we have a need for a big,” Pelinka said, as detailed in the article. “The market for bigs right now, leading into the last two or three days of the trade deadline, is very dry. There's just not a lot available. So maybe we'll be able to do some stuff around the margins."
The article mentioned Houston Rockets big man Steven Adams, Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams, and others as guys the Lakers have shown an interest in.
The irony? This is exactly what Davis begged the Lakers to do for years.
Ever since the Lakers moved Davis to their full-time five, he had been begging the team to trade for a center to play alongside him. He wanted to play the power forward, yet the Lakers continued to play him at center.
Davis always wanted the Lakers to add a center, and now, they’re going to do just that. He just won’t be around to see his dream come to fruition in LA.
The Lakers should want to pair Doncic with a solid center to run pick-and-roll with, especially considering the lack of depth at the position on their roster. And evidently, they want to add one for that purpose more than they wanted to add one to help Davis.
Davis will probably get to play some power forward minutes next to Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford in Dallas, but it’s certainly not what he had in mind when begging the Lakers to add a center for all these years.
But that’s just the craziness that the NBA trade deadline brings about.