Getty Anthony Davis looking ahead
The Los Angeles Lakers could be taking notes with Anthony Davis playing the four for the USA Team. Davis looks as good as he ever has, which could intrigue them to find a full-time center to put him at power forward moving forward.
Davis has expressed in the past that he wants to play the four, but the Lakers haven’t found someone who can help him do that. However, Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report found a solution to that problem, urging Los Angeles to trade for Wendell Carter Jr. of the Orlando Magic.
“The Lakers don’t have a clear option at the backup 5 right now. Carter, who has two seasons remaining on a four-year, $50 million deal, could very well be that answer,” Kasabain wrote on July 16. “He averaged 11.0 points on 52.5 percent shooting and 6.9 rebounds last season as a starter for the Magic.
“Adding Carter could potentially mean that the Lakers lose Russell, but they may be seeing him leave for nothing next offseason regardless when he hits free agency. Carter could potentially be filling a bigger need as is with the Lakers needing some more frontcourt depth.”
Lakers are ‘Monitoring’ Carter
With the Los Angeles Lakers yet to make a move in free agency to better their roster and having limited spending power due to being slightly below the second apron, they’ll have to turn to trades to improve their roster this offseason.
They seem to be doing that.
According to Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, an NBA executive said that the Lakers are “monitoring” Carter, but so are many teams.
“Fairly young, probably a little undervalued because of his red flags (injuries) and still tapping into his skillset,” the exec said on July 10. “The contract is right, it makes sense for them. That’s a guy they’re monitoring, but a lot of teams are.”
Carter is entering the third year of his four-year, $50 million contract, which allows the Lakers to match his salary with relative ease. The question then becomes who the Orlando Magic could want, which could pose an issue in landing the 25-year-old.
Carter Could Fit Nicely Next to Davis
The idea of landing another center wouldn’t necessarily be to have that player be a backup. Carter could fit into the role of starting at center, which would allow them to move Davis to the power forward position.
While Davis could still play the five when needed, this would allow him to focus on other things on the court, which could ultimately help keep him healthy.
Having Davis, an elite defender, and Carter, who holds his own on the defensive end, would give the Los Angeles Lakers one of the best frontcourt defenses in the NBA.
Outside of what Carter could bring in terms of lineup versatility, the Lakers could use much of what he does on the offensive side of the basketball. In 2023-24, he averaged 11.0 points and shot 37.4% from 3-point range on 3.1 attempts per game.
Giving Davis and LeBron James a 3-point shooting threat from the center position could help open up the Lakers’ offense after attempting the fewest 3-pointers per game a year ago.
The Lakers are running out of options, and their quiet offseason has raised some worries. However, answering those questions with a trade for Carter could quiet some of the doubts around them.