There have been lots of rumors that the Los Angeles Lakers will try to trade for a player who would represent a major upgrade in the backcourt. Their potential guard targets include Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and Collin Sexton.
But the Lakers could elect to go the route of landing a legitimate starting center in order to allow Anthony Davis to move to the power forward spot at least some of the time. If they do so, they could go after Jonas Valančiūnas, who currently plays for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Via Yahoo Sports:
“Pelicans center Jonas Valančiūnas, who’s approaching unrestricted free agency, has been another big man often mentioned by NBA figures as a potential Lakers frontcourt addition this summer,” wrote Jake Fischer.
Valančiūnas, 31, is 6-foot-11 and weighs 265 pounds. While he’s only a mediocre 3-point shooter, he can score on occasion (he averaged 12.2 points in 23.5 minutes a game while shooting 55.9% from the field this season), and he’s also a very good rebounder.
Defensive rebounding is one of the Lakers’ biggest weaknesses, and adding someone such as Valančiūnas would go a long way in addressing that issue.
The Lithuania native made $15.4 million this season, so he would likely have to take a considerable pay cut in order to join the Purple and Gold.