The Los Angeles Lakers are currently in third place in the West and have a record of 9-4, before taking the court tonight against the Utah Jazz (04:30 on Wednesday, November 20 in Italy). This is better than some fans expected, but the Lakers are not happy and want to improve. Speaking on the Pat McAfee show, Shams Charania reported, via NBACentral, that the Lakers are “actively” looking for a center. This makes perfect sense and could really improve the team, but what kind of luck will they have finding their perfect candidate?
The Lakers are up and down: they go up and down based on how well Anthony Davis is playing. Luckily for them, he’s been MVP-worthy so far this year and their pivot is clearly tuned. But the Lakers need more than just Davis and they need more big stars to help him. Jaxson Hayes is injured, along with Christian Wood. As for Davis, he is currently healthy, but if he were to get injured or need to stop for some reason, the Lakers would be completely decimated.
Rob Pelinka supposedly has his eye on some stars around the league, including Jonas Valanciunas. The Lithuanian went to the last-place Wizards in search of a good contract in the summer and is currently starting on the bench. Despite this, he averages 12.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 blocks in 20.2 minutes. Any deal will require the Lakers to ship out some contracts and possibly even some players.
