The Los Angeles Lakers are half-heartedly trying to grant Anthony Davis‘ wish to add another center.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers are “indeed exploring all of their trade options” to trade for a center after the Dorian Finney-Smith trade.
“Yet league sources stressed over the weekend that the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either [Nikola] Vučević or Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl … while oft-suggested Lakers target Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz is believed to be as close to unavailable as it gets with less than 10 days to go before the trade deadline on Feb. 6 at 3 PM ET,” Stein wrote in his “The Stein Line newsletter on Substack.
The Lakers’ reluctance to surrender a first-round pick for either Vučević or Poeltl is what keeps holding them from making a deal.
“Adding Vučević would be very pricey for the Lakers beyond Chicago’s desire to extract a first-round pick in return; absorbing the $21.5 million owed to Vučević in 2025-26 is daunting financially for a team that projects to have Davis and LeBron James taking up two-thirds of next season’s salary cap and has strained to stay below the second apron this season.
Poeltl, meanwhile, is a similar case, with a $19.5 million salary looming in both 2025-26 and 2026-27 (player option) and the Raptors are believed to be seeking an even richer return than Chicago has sought for Vučević to part with a player many teams believe that Toronto would prefer to keep,” Stein wrote.
The Man Who Cannot Be Moved
The latest news from Stein only confirmed the earlier reports from The Athletic that the Lakers are “standing pat or make half-measure trade.”
“The sense around the league, when talking to rival scouts and front-office personnel, is that standing pat or making a half-measure trade (likely one or two second-round picks) is more likely than the Lakers going all-in and trading both of their future first-round picks that can be moved. That’s dependent, of course, on the available players, asking prices and the team’s performance through the deadline,” Buha reported on January 21.
Even after the public pressure staged by their stars Davis and James, Rob Pelinka, the team’s vice president of basketball operations and general manager, did not budge. He’s not mortgaging their future by trading their remaining two first-round picks available for current roster upgrades.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, the Lakers have not changed their approach to the NBA trade deadline despite the pressure from their stars.
“The Lakers’ recent discussions with teams show little sign of aggression, sources say, and those actions speak to their concern level about their stars at the moment. The Lakers have shown a reticence to put their future first-round picks into trades in recent seasons, and there’s no indication that position has shifted,” Windhorst and Bontemps reported on January 24.
Lakers’ ‘Perfect Fit’ to Anthony Davis Could Become Available
Jovan Buha of The Athletic recently hinted that Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner could become available due to his contract situation.
“It’s specifically just a basic contract situation of he is about to be an unrestricted free agent and he’s going to want $30-plus million and I’ve heard Indiana is not sure if they want to give him $30-plus million,” Buha said via his “Buha’s Block Podcast.” “If they don’t, then from an asset management perspective, it makes sense to trade him and get something back for him.”
“If Myles Turner is available I think, if you’re the Lakers you have to go and get him,” Buha suggested. “Because he just fits perfectly next to AD on both sides of the floor. He spaces the floor and he’s a rim protector.”
Then again, the Pacers will not give up Turner for pennies. If he becomes available, will Pelinka change his stance on their first-round draft capital?
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Lakers’ Trade Plan For Center Gets Major Update Amid Pressure From Stars