It’s not news, of course, to anyone who has watched the Los Angeles Lakers for any stretch of time this season, that this team can’t expect to move forward with Kevon Looney as their sole backup center, which is currently where the roster stands. Coach JJ Redick has faked things behind Walker Kessler as much as possible, which has included more minutes than the team would like with Sandro Mamukelashvili at the 5, and with Jarred Vanderbilt moonlighting there, too. Neither is a perfect alternative, and with the Lakers hard-capped, lacking in draft capital and working within the confines of the NBA‘s financial rules, there’s little chance that a perfect alternative will emerge. There was arguably one, though, who had been on the radar–Pelicans big man Karlo Matkovic.
The Lakers had interest in Matkovic this summer, as did several teams. But New Orleans was rebuffing offers on both him and center Yves Missi, a stance the stubborn Pelicans took all too often in the offseason.
Lakers Badly Need a Backup
Dan Woike of The Athletic noted that the Lakers do need a backup, soon. He wrote: “This team really can’t afford to lose Kessler for any extended amount of time. The Lakers have already decided that Kevon Looney isn’t a workable backup center, and they have limited trade assets to address that (at a time when supply for backup centers is low and demand around the league outside of the Lakers is high).”
Now, at 4-8, the Pelicans could perhaps help. They have become something of a nightmare, and the feeling around the league is that a sell-off will have to come. New Orleans has some valuable pieces–Trey Murphy for starters–and some shaky and overpriced pieces (Zion Williamson, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray). But Matkovic is one piece that other teams, including the Lakers, are eagerly hoping to get their hands on.
Matkovic is a 25-year-old second round pick from 2024, who averaged 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 58.9% from the field and 37.8% from the 3-point line in his first two seasons. He was on several teams’ trade radars, but still mostly as a risk, a future gamble. But this season, he has started eight games and is in line for a bigger role. He is still only playing 18.8 minutes, but averaging 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting 58.1% and 44.4% from the 3-point line.
Teams Will Overpay for Karlo Matkovic Trade
One NBA scout says that Matkovic has higher value around the league than what the Pelicans seem to put on him, and that is bad news for the Lakers–L.A. has only three future second-round picks to send out for a backup center, a position that has been getting increasingly worrisome. Matkovic has probably played himself out of the low-hanging fruit trade range.
“I do not know what it would take to get him but a lot of us have seen him and think he should be playing 24, 25 minutes a night,” the scout said. “So, if you are talking about trading for him, that is going to be sort of baked into whatever kind of offer you have to make. Other teams are going to be willing to overpay for him. He can shoot, run the floor, block shots, he is the perfect backup for a lot of teams.”
The Lakers had interest in Matkovic. But if he plays well in the coming weeks, they probably can’t keep up when it comes to make a trade offer.
Lakers ‘Perfect’ Trade Option Playing Too Well to Deal