The Los Angeles Lakers addressed a major hole on their roster earlier this offseason with the acquisition of DeAndre Ayton at center. Still, the team may not be finished upgrading their roster at that position.
Anthony Irwin of Clutch Points reported that, “This does leave a few interesting free agents still, not even including eventual buyout candidates like Chicago’s Nikola Vučević. As they did with Smart, the Lakers are closely monitoring that situation.”
The Lakers are right to monitor Vučević’s status, too.
If a rejuvenated Ayton can shake off two seasons of so-so basketball in Portland and be the dominant center he was at his peak in Phoenix, the team has a potential All-Star and game-changer on its hands. If not, seeking another veteran center who can complement and back up the big man is necessary, and in two-time All-Star Vučević, the team would have just that.
The Bulls center played 31.2 minutes per game last season, scoring 18.5 points per game and shooting 53 percent from the paint and 40.2 percent from beyond the arc. He added 10.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Vučević popped up in trade discussions dating back to the deadline last season, including a link to the Lakers during their mid-year pursuit of a big man.
Still, no team has been willing to take that leap, meaning the 34-year-old Swiss player could have his contract bought out by a Chicago team that appears to be poised for, at the very least, a soft rebuild.
He was every bit as good as Ayton over the last two seasons and, it can be argued, may have been even better.
With no guarantee that the Lakers are going to get the same Ayton who once looked like the future of the center position in the NBA, paying close attention to Vučević and his situation with the Bulls, in hopes that they can swoop in and pick him up should that buy-out occur, is a wise move for the front office.
The same front office whose desire to win a championship while it still has LeBron James on the roster can be measured by their league-altering trade for Luka Dončić during the season.
If nothing else, the report suggests the team knows that Ayton alone is not the answer, nor is the combination of Jaxson Hayes, Christian Koloko, and Alex Len behind him.
If the team can add Vučević to its roster and pair him with Ayton to strengthen what was once their biggest area of concern, the Lakers will be one step closer to being a legitimate threat to Oklahoma City, Denver, and Minnesota in what is a loaded Western Conference and a potentially hoisting their first Larry O’Brien trophy in five years.
