The Los Angeles Lakers need an upgrade at the center position if they want to keep Luka Doncic happy, which should make acquiring the correct player a top priority this summer.
Who that player will be, however, is up for debate. The first relevant question involves how L.A. will attempt to go about procuring a new big man. Reports coming out of Los Angeles following the Lakers’ disappointing first-round playoff exit is that LeBron James, who will play at 41 years old if he returns next season, doesn’t plan on giving the team a break financially.
“If James returns to the Lakers, though, league sources say he’s not expected to consider the kind of pay cut that was in play around this time a year ago,” Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote on Friday, May 2. “Last summer, James took a discount of approximately $2.7 million to help the Lakers stay under the second apron and maintain roster flexibility.”
Should James opt into the final year of his contract, which is worth $52.6 million, or opt out and sign a new deal worth even more, the Lakers won’t be able to pursue a viable center through free agency because they simply won’t have the salary cap space to do so — unless the franchise is willing to venture into the luxury tax.
And since the Lakers don’t have a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA draft, that leaves a trade as the best roster-building option. There are a handful of names that might make sense, including that of Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III, who ESPN’s Kevin Pelton pitched for L.A. on the Friday, May 2 edition of the “Brian Windhorst & the Hoop Collective” podcast.
Robert Williams Fits Well With Lakers, Presents Serious Drawbacks
GettyPortland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III.
Williams wasn’t the only player Pelton and fellow hosts Windhorst and Tim McMahon mentioned as a front court trade candidate for the Lakers, but he was the most cost effective.
“If you’re looking lower cost, maybe Robert Williams from Portland,” Pelton said. “They have an overload at center. They like Robert Williams in the locker room, so they haven’t been in a hurry to move him. But that would be somebody that would fit into [the Lakers’] salary structure pretty easily for one of those expiring contracts that we talked about and maybe a minimum guy.”
The issue with Williams, who was the defensive anchor for multiple Boston Celtics‘ teams that challenged for titles, is how often he is injured. Across Williams’ seven-year career, he has played more than 50 games just twice and more than 60 contests only a single time (2021-22).
Williams has been in Portland for two years and appeared in a total of 26 games, including 20 last season. He is currently playing on a four-year contract worth $48 million total that runs through next year, when his cap hit is $13.3 million.
Other Lakers’ Trade Options May Be too Pricey, Complicated
Getty Center Nic Claxton of the Brooklyn Nets.
Two other options the ESPN trio mentioned on the podcast were Nic Claxton of the Brooklyn Nets and Daniel Gafford of the Dallas Mavericks.
The problem with Claxton is that his salary is north of $25 million next season, which Pelton pointed out would likely mean a trade with L.A. that involves three Lakers players, and that would be far more complicated to work out.
The issue with Gafford is that the Mavericks may be hesitant to do more business with Los Angeles so soon after the Doncic trade considering how poorly that went over in Dallas. The Lakers would probably also need to surrender their sole tradable first-round pick plus multiple of the four first-round pick swaps at their disposal.
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