Ever since the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Anthony Davis in a blockbuster trade in 2019, he has let it be known that his preference is to play power forward with another center in the lineup.
The Lakers had a lot of success with that in Davis’ first season with the team, but they have since mostly gone away from it as a majority of Davis’ minutes have come at center the last three seasons.
Davis’ stance doesn’t appear to have changed though as Dave McMenamin of ESPN is reporting that he continues to tell the organization he wants another big man beside him:
One thing Davis has made clear to the Lakers, sources told ESPN, is his preference to play alongside another big more often. The Lakers are thin in the middle going into the season with Christian Wood expected to be out for at least eight weeks following left knee surgery, leaving Jaxson Hayes and two-way player Colin Castleton as the only other healthy centers on the roster.
After losing to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs the last two years, it has been clear that the Lakers need to add another center to the mix that can play alongside Davis and also back him up.
Rob Pelinka and the front office ignored that issue this offseason though as they did not make an moves to improve the roster.
So heading into the 2024-25 season, the Lakers should have the same group of big men that they had a year ago with Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes backing up Davis.
With that being the case, it doesn’t look like Davis will get his wish as the expectation is for him to play most of his minutes at center again this season.
New head coach JJ Redick recently said that the organization is hoping to add a center at some point, so they recognize their deficiencies there, but it does not appear that any moves will be made before the start of the season.
Lakers center Christian Wood undergoes knee surgery
To make matters worse, the Lakers recently announced that Christian Wood underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and will be re-evaluated in eight weeks.
That means he will miss the start of the regular season, leaving Jaxson Hayes as the only other center on the roster alongside Anthony Davis. Two-way player Colin Castleton could also be in the mix for minutes given the team’s lack of depth in the frontcourt.
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