’Very Much in Play’ — NBA Insider Reveals Lakers’ Path to Landing Starting Center Upgrade Over Deandre Ayton
· Yahoo Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers are eyeing major changes this offseason, with a starting center upgrade among their top priorities as the franchise faces increasing pressure to build a title contender around superstar guard Luka Dončić.
As free agency fast approaches, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne shed light on LA’s most viable path to landing one of the premier big man targets it has been “scouting all year long.”
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Lakers Contemplating ‘Using Cap Space for Trade’ for ‘A-List’ Center
In his Thursday article titled “The five biggest questions for the Lakers this offseason,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin revealed that Dončić’s “first and foremost desire” is for LA to acquire an “A-list center” to make life easier for him in the grueling Western Conference.
“The reasoning goes beyond the obvious need to compete in the West with stars such as the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama and the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić, two players who finished above Dončić in the MVP vote this season,” McMenamin wrote.
“A rim-running, lob-catching big man opens so much for Dončić’s already potent offensive game, and someone who can defend at the position too is necessary to contend with the best teams in either conference.”
The insider added that the Lakers have “already done their due diligence on” impending restricted free agent centers Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler, and possess “three tradeable first-round picks” and “potentially nearly $50 million in cap space to use in free agency, or to trade for player(s) into that space.”
Both big men would mark clear defensive upgrades over Deandre Ayton, whose questionable effort and inconsistency wore on LA’s fan base during his first season with the Purple and Gold. The 2018 No. 1 pick holds an $8.1 million player option for the 2026-27 campaign that he could decline to become a free agent.
With Dončić reportedly fully recovered from the Grade 2 left hamstring strain that sidelined him for the Lakers’ entire 10-game 2026 playoff run, pressure is mounting to maximize the 27-year-old’s prime, especially with his co-stars LeBron James and Austin Reaves set to hit free agency.
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Speaking on LA’s interest in Duren and Kessler, Shelburne relayed intel on the front office’s thought process entering free agency to ensure its team-building plans don’t prove futile.
“‘A-list centers,’ okay. Alright, well, they’re restricted, so what does that mean? It means you sign them to an offer sheet, and somebody can match that. … So, you could wait, and you could sign them to an offer sheet, and then their current team could match it, and then you’ve got nobody, and the other centers are off the board,” Shelburne began on Thursday’s edition of “NBA Today.”
“…The most likely thing is you could do a sign-and-trade for one of those guys, or you do a trade for another center into your cap space. Every conversation I have had with the Lakers, I felt like the option of using the cap space for a trade is very much in play ’cause there’s a lot of centers out there that they’ve been scouting all year long,” the insider added.
If the Lakers can swing a deal for a big-name center while retaining James and Reaves, such a scenario should keep them firmly in the upper echelon of the West.
LA is coming off a standout 53-29 season, with the team improbably managing to win a playoff round in Dončić’s absence, boding well for its outlook with the six-time All-Star back in the fold.