The Los Angeles Lakers were busy on the first couple days of free agency, bringing back most of their core from last season while also making some solid additions around the edges.
If there’s a need they have yet to address though, it is the center position. Outside of Anthony Davis, the Lakers have only signed former lottery pick Jaxson Hayes to a minimum contract to play center.
The Lakers only have 13 players under contract though, which means they have one more roster spot to hand out before the start of training camp. The Lakers typically go into the season with an open roster spot to maintain flexibility for more moves down the road.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, free agent centers Christian Wood and Bismack Biyombo are both being considered for the team’s final roster spot:
Centers Christian Wood and Bismack Biyombo are in consideration for that 14th roster spot, according to team sources not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The Lakers had interest in Dario Saric before he signed with the Golden State Warriors earlier this week, those sources said. Pelinka clarified that Los Angeles is hoping to find a player that is different than Hayes from a skill-set perspective.
The Lakers only have the ability to give out a veteran minimum contract, so it remains to be seen if either Wood or Biyombo would be willing to settle for that. The fact that they are still free agents this late in the offseason shows they are not getting a ton of interest around the league, however.
Wood would give the Lakers a stretch big that can play alongside Anthony Davis. In 67 games for the Dallas Mavericks last year, he averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 37.6% from 3-point range. He is a career 37.9% shooter from deep.
Biyombo, on the other hand, would not give the Lakers much offensively but would be a much-needed rim protector. In limited minutes with the Phoenix Suns last year, he averaged 4.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. For his career he averages 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes.
Pelinka says Lakers are looking for another big man
It’s no secret that the Lakers are in the market for another center as Rob Pelinka revealed as such when speaking to the media at the Las Vegas Summer League on Sunday.
Pelinka added that they are looking to get back to the 2019-20 model with another center next to Davis, and they are looking for someone with a different skillset than Hayes.
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