It seems like every fan of the Los Angeles Lakers wants the team to obtain some sort of substantial upgrade at the center position. Deandre Ayton, the team's starter this season, was up and down, both in terms of production and effort, and he has a player option for next season, while backup Jaxson Hayes, who has limited skills, will become a free agent this summer.
The Lakers have been linked to soon-to-be-free agent centers such as Walker Kessler, Mitchell Robinson and Robert Williams III. But as The Athletic beat writer Dan Woike noted in a new mailbag, many, if not most, of L.A.'s center targets may be unrealistic.
"Walker Kessler is someone they’ve targeted in the past, and the door could be slightly open for a sign-and-trade that would make Utah uncomfortable with the financial commitment to their frontcourt," Woike wrote. "But I just don’t think the Jazz want to deal him — they’ve had chances.
"Does Yves Missi have the right set of skills to completely thrive in a Dončić system? It seems like it. Can he do it in high-leverage moments as Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lively II did in Dallas? Very 'to be determined.' I’m skeptical that Cleveland, in an effort to ease financial problems, would rid itself of its starting center in Jarrett Allen without having a great line on a different starting center. I also think Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein are far more likely to return to their teams than to enter free agency. (If Hartenstein were gettable, it’d almost certainly have to be via trade after the [Oklahoma City] Thunder exercise their team option, the Lakers then arming Oklahoma City with more draft capital.)
"Robert Williams III is an option, though Portland, according to league sources, is expected to show interest in re-signing him after he played 59 games last season — second-most in his injury-hampered career."
The Lakers have been linked to soon-to-be-free agent centers such as Walker Kessler, Mitchell Robinson and Robert Williams III. But as The Athletic beat writer Dan Woike noted in a new mailbag, many, if not most, of L.A.'s center targets may be unrealistic.
"Walker Kessler is someone they’ve targeted in the past, and the door could be slightly open for a sign-and-trade that would make Utah uncomfortable with the financial commitment to their frontcourt," Woike wrote. "But I just don’t think the Jazz want to deal him — they’ve had chances.
"Does Yves Missi have the right set of skills to completely thrive in a Dončić system? It seems like it. Can he do it in high-leverage moments as Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lively II did in Dallas? Very 'to be determined.' I’m skeptical that Cleveland, in an effort to ease financial problems, would rid itself of its starting center in Jarrett Allen without having a great line on a different starting center. I also think Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein are far more likely to return to their teams than to enter free agency. (If Hartenstein were gettable, it’d almost certainly have to be via trade after the [Oklahoma City] Thunder exercise their team option, the Lakers then arming Oklahoma City with more draft capital.)
"Robert Williams III is an option, though Portland, according to league sources, is expected to show interest in re-signing him after he played 59 games last season — second-most in his injury-hampered career."
4 months ago
