Getty Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes a shot against Bismack Biyombo.
New Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick made it known his wish is to add a “big bruising” center to back up Anthony Davis.
Their best bet, according to Bleacher Report’s Zack Buckley, is free agent center Bismack Biyombo.
“He’s a 6’8”, 255-pounder who’s more than willing to throw his muscle around on the interior.
There isn’t much to his game beyond paint protection, though that might be the Lakers’ primary focus anyway. They recognize that it could take some size to win the Western Conference, and Biyombo is someone who can bang with opposing bigs for 10 to 15 minutes,” Buckley wrote.
Biyombo has the attributes Redick has been looking for after missing out on their initial target Jonas Valanciunas.
“You certainly have to look at what I think is actually a very good roster, a very balanced roster,” Redick said in an interview with Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “We’d love to, we tried, but we’d love to, at some point, get another five man, a big bruising five man.
“You look at the Western Conference right now, whether it’s Denver, Minnesota, OKC with what they added, certainly Memphis, they’re going to be back in the hunt, they added Zach Edey, certain matchups in the playoffs, you’re going to need a lot of size.”
Redick wants to add size to counter Nuggets‘ three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Timberwolves‘ Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Thunder’s Chet Holmgren and free agent acquisition Isaiah Hartenstein.
The 31-year-old Biyombo averaged 6.8 rebounds, 5.7 points and 1.8 assists in 27 spot-starts last season with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Why Lakers Can’t Just Add Bismack Biyombo?
Even if Biyombo is available for the veteran’s minimum, it might cost the Lakers a draft capital just to sign him.
Why?
Because the Lakers’ roster is full, they have to make a trade to create a roster spot.
Their roster reached the maximum limit of 15 after signing their rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James to standard rookie contracts while their veteran minimum guys from last season picked up their player options.
“One of the reasons the Lakers have been unable to make any signings and had to explore trades is that four roster holdovers who were given second-year player options last summer — D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish — opted in due to their performances last season and the tight free-agent market,” Buha wrote.
Of the four players, only Russell ($18.7 million) holds value as a salary ballast in a trade for an impact player who earns similar or less money.
Lakers Expected to Make Consolidation Trade
The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reported on July 16 that such a move is still in play before the new season tips off.
“The Lakers expect to make a consolidation trade at some point, though that could come closer to the start of the season, according to league sources,” Buha wrote.
Aside from Valanciunas, the Lakers have also struck out on Klay Thompson, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan and Gary Trent Jr.
Trent was the latest miss for the Lakers as the prolific 3-point shooter opted to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks on a one-year veteran minimum deal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.