The Los Angeles Lakers are well aware of the manner in which Anthony Davis would prefer to play. Nearly a year ago, he formally requested that the front office add a center to the roster who can alleviate some of the interior burdens he carries.
As Davis thrives as one of the top players on Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, that request continues to rear its head.
Davis has been a defensive anchor and offensive playmaker for the Americans throughout the Olympics. During that time, he's worked alongside Bam Adebayo and Joel Embiid, who rank among the few who rival Davis among top-tier big men.
Per the official FIBA Basketball website, Davis believes that the presence of Embiid makes Team USA a stronger and more well-rounded team—an intriguing comment given the circumstances.
"We have a lot of scoring guards, it's our job to give them second chance opportunities, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, blocks, just do our parts. (Joel Embiid) has been aggressive, dominant and that's what we're gonna need in the next game. He came out ready to play, obviously the crowd booing him feeds into it, he embraces it, and he's been the spark on our team."
That's eerily reminiscent of Davis' longstanding request for the Lakers to add a center who can assist him in those exact areas.
Anthony Davis offers praise for Joel Embiid, reminder to Lakers
Much like Team USA, the Lakers play through a deep group of perimeter-oriented shot-creators. That includes Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and D'Angelo Russell, with the likes of Max Christie, Dalton Knecht, and Gabe Vincent expected to receive opportunities, as well.
That's placed a remarkable burden on Davis to do exactly what he described—and in 2023-24, he was essentially a man on an island.
Davis ranked No. 1 in the NBA in second-chance points, but the Lakers were dead last as a team. He was No. 4 in blocks and No. 11 in offensive rebounds, but Los Angeles was No. 21 in points allowed in the paint and No. 30 in offensive rebounding.
The obvious resolution to these issues is to find players who excel in the team's areas of weakness, thus ensuring that the burden of interior stability is distributed more evenly.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has spoken openly about wanting to add a big, bruising center to the roster. Los Angeles actively acknowledging the weakness and working to honor Davis' request is certainly a promising sign.
The Lakers have yet to add a new player to the roster via any avenue other than the 2024 NBA Draft and two-way contracts, however, and there's no telling when that will change.
Los Angeles reportedly intends to make a consolidation trade closer to the start of the 2024-25 season. The goal would be to shuffle the roster in a manner that results in the depth chart and rotation being more clearly defined moving forward.
One can only hope that Davis' request for help along the interior will be honored after nearly a year of suspense.