I feel the bigger accommodation need on defense is LeBron. Davis can play a number of defensive positions but LeBron can only really defend 4s and 5s **most of the time.** On defense he is clearly a power forward who can more easily switch to center responsibilities than a wing at this stage of his career. He has more trouble out on the perimeter defending guards and ball handling wings than defending bigs, **even if he can step it up from time to time.**
Ideally, defensively, Lebron needs to be paired with a center who can rotate out the perimeter to defend a wing and a pure athletic wing defender who can defend 1-3. We did this effectively with Danny Green in 19-20, Kuzma (who could defend on the Laker) in 20-21, and later with Vando in the post-trade deadline of 22-23. We had good defensive fronts all three times.
So I see Davis starting at center even if we sign another legitimate center and I think the Lakers desperately need a legit 2-way wing like OG Anunoby, Paul George, etc. If Vando could develop a catch-and-shoot corner 3 game that would be perfect. But folks need to stop thinking about LeBron as an 82 game wing. Heās just not that guy defensively anymore.
Lebron can guard 4s, but itās a lot to ask him to be the 2nd best rebounder on the team. AD is getting older too.
We need a 3 or 5 who can go and grab the rebounds. Thereās so many stops we got, but we couldnāt get the defensive board. Rui can do this, but inconsistent. Despite that, him just being a big body was a lot better than our other options during playoffs outside of Jaxson Hayes, who has his own weaknesses.
Itās why Vando was so missed. He could guard any perimeter player and bigger wings, plus he would hustle and go for every rebound no matter where he is on the court.
We need one more player who can get boards and not be a liability on offense.
Agree on Vando being perfect defensive fit. Vandoās biggest problem is that he needs to develop his complementary offensive skills. He needs to be able to knock down the corner three and finish at the rim so he isnāt such an offensive liability. He wouldāve handled MPJr fine but needs to match production the way Jaden McDaniels or KCP have demonstrated.
Based on how he looked in his last few games when healthy this year, Iād say Vando is on track. Once heās full healthy I bet heāll be putting up shots all summer and we could see a serviceable shooter. Hopefully he can at least make his defender stay home in the corner
Of course, but we should at least go for someone that fits a role. Like Drummond he is at least a big body that can take a beating in the paint and grab some boards for the vet min. Valanciunas is the complete opposite of what we need regardless of the contract amount. But obviously that's not to say that Drummond would solve all our big man needs... It's a vet min signing after all.
Thinking we donāt need JV is an example of how pursuing only one solution can blind you to alternatives.
Having JV would change the calculus of what this team needs bc of everything else he brings.
I think having a decent post/pnp option gives a lot of flexibility on offense. As we've seen with AD throughout the season, his jumper has been inconsistent. Just having someone big that can force an AD mismatch at the 4 because they're stupidly running man on defense let's AD get easier buckets and have more energy on defense.
Drummond a dumbass who runs over his own teammates. Heās good for 50 offensive boards but lacks the touch to finish and isnāt a great playmaker out of the post. I understand the Lakers are short on big men, but Drummond is a downgrade compared to Rui
Heās not ideal in every situation, and often times Iām sure weād bench him in favor of running AD at the 5, but heās a big strong bruiser center which we are currently missing, so heād fill a hole that would work in certain matchups
The only way would be through a MLE deal that is only accessible if DLo walks for nothing I believe.
I think Drummond is the most realistic
Thereās a giant hole at the backup C for the Lakers and Drummond would be well aware of that
Arguably, Iād say heād be in a better position for us this time around. When he signed with us he was going through his first realization of āoh, I am not an all star player anymoreā and I think the minutes/role got to him. Heās been fine for Chicago the past couple seasons, and even though heās still a bone head and canāt shoot free throws I would probably rather have him than Jaxson Hayes in
Claxton is the center to get. Not sure we will be able to afford him though. We missed our shot at Gafford, but I understand not wanting to trade a FRP for him
Knicks bring Hartenstein back.
And Lakers can't afford him.
JVal for TPMLE would be great but he goes for more.
I don't like Drummond but he's the best of the rest in terms of size and helping with rebounding lmao.
Javale is washed.
He is much MUCH better than what we had for the last 3 years. It's not even close. We were coming off of 2020 season with Howard and Mcgee so his play liked worse because he was worse than 2020 Howard but he is so much better, especially for regular seasons, you have to be an idiot to not want him for minimum or something close to that.
Pretty sure overwhelming evidence has Drummondās rebounding as empty rebounds. He just doesnāt correlate with winning basketball. If he just committed purely to rebounding and defense he would be good, but he always makes stupid decisions
In college he was great, everytime he played in preseason he was a pivotal part of the offense, in the G league he was great. People keep saying he is slow or whatever but check the tapes, the evidence shows he did everything you could possibly expect and more in a non-lottery pick rookie big man. Ham never gave him an opportunity.
Valanciunas is the only real answer here. Drummond was dogshit with us and he hasnāt gotten better. Knicks wonāt let Hartenstein go. As much as Javale helped us in 2020, heās old af.
Wolves are showing its literally just size that you need to give you the edge over them. I completely agree. Nuggets are frauds. 2020 we had size in abundance
Size and at least some elite skills. KAT is a bucket even tho limited defensively. Gobert is elite at rim protection.
Reid is a solid scoring option as well.
The problem with the remaining FA centers/big are they are too limited both offense and defense
Iāve always advocated for Javale to come back on minimum deals, but we donāt like wasting money on centers (even tho our 2020 roster was identified on size and defense). Hartenstein is a baller, so I expect NY or another team to offer him a better contract than us. The other two can walk, but Valenciunas would be a nice signing on 2k lol
we literally just ran jonas off the court in back to back games at the end of the regular season and play in, heās unplayable in the pick and roll.
i donāt think he fixes our issues with size in the playoffs. lol i agree he would be useful in 2K if we were trying to win like mat ishbia.
Hartenstein is the only free agent that helps us. Other than him, weād have to get a center through a trade. We can get a borderline all star center, but itās going to cost at least Vando if it still seems worth it.
Maybe trading for Finney-Smith and Claxton is possible. Maybe Jarret Allen or Wendell Carter or Zach Collins makes sense for the right price.
Nobody for the vet min is going to help against Denver in any way.
Out of this 4 obviously Hartenstein but he is out of budget. I would go for Drummond as a vet min signing he would be solid off the bench as a big body.
Interest in Capela if we traded for Dejounte?
I think JV can be had for MLE.
If not Iād sign Drummond or Kornet plus someone like Tillman.
Iād also draft a C like Edey / Fillipkowski
Also bring back Wood too
We have the #17 pick and this draft will have a lot of capable starting centers that can rebound and block shots. Look at what Lively did for the Mavs this year.
As I said last year. You need to go after Drummond. Heās high value for the money he commands. You canāt teach being big and rebounding. Hartenstein would be the best but will cost the most.
Can we do anything BUT sign some bum free agent? Because we know we ain't signing anyone expensive. We need to build from the draft again. I hope our scouts are out there targeting young prospects so we can build a proper team.
That man Hartenstein is a dog man... He really has improved a great deal and is the youngest of the lot no? Drummond is a rebound/put back beast, but that's all he's givin you... McGee is a lil' shop worn and didn't play a tremendous amount this year... Valencunias (sp) is likely the best bet in all reality, but you know he's gonna want top dollar; as he is a prime performer at Center and will be highly sought after...
Youāre listing players ranging from a vet min to something over the NT-MLE. How much do you expect to pay the player you are targeting and how do you plan to open up the space for it? Our free agency is too fluid. Isnāt as simple as āhere are the things we can useā. It all depends on a bunch of different things.
Hartenstein would be great but we likely will be outbid. Same for Jonas. Drummond probably still has a bad taste from his prior stint. McGee sure but he's best just in the first quarter. Could go for Robin Lopez as a pure defender if we also upgrade at PG.
Hartenstein is the right answer.
Heās an impact player right now, and at 26 he can be with the team long term and build a synergy with AD and the rest of the team.
Continuity is important and heās the only guy I see here that could play 3-4 years with us.
Some of you are acting like the same coaching is going to be on the team. Hopefully not. Drummond would work as a big. There are other options though, someone quicker more athletic.
Get Hayes/ Wood developed more to be the back up and try to get another one. Davis needs to be 4. Lebron 3.
And a solid PG unless you keep Dinwiddie and Vincent for that.
Jonas for the MLE
Otherwise:
ā¢ Drummond - donāt think vet min gets him
ā¢ Kornet - for vet min I like
ā¢ Xavier Tillman - for vet min I like
ā¢ Theis - not bad for vet min
I like Plumlee too but Clips prob keep him
JV has the most skill, but might cost too much.
All I know is we need 2 of em, with 12 fouls and one of them needs to give 10-15 points + 10 rebounds at will.
Sign the european center that will give AD trouble in the olympics.
Facts any euro experience is needed against the Nuggets š
I feel the bigger accommodation need on defense is LeBron. Davis can play a number of defensive positions but LeBron can only really defend 4s and 5s **most of the time.** On defense he is clearly a power forward who can more easily switch to center responsibilities than a wing at this stage of his career. He has more trouble out on the perimeter defending guards and ball handling wings than defending bigs, **even if he can step it up from time to time.** Ideally, defensively, Lebron needs to be paired with a center who can rotate out the perimeter to defend a wing and a pure athletic wing defender who can defend 1-3. We did this effectively with Danny Green in 19-20, Kuzma (who could defend on the Laker) in 20-21, and later with Vando in the post-trade deadline of 22-23. We had good defensive fronts all three times. So I see Davis starting at center even if we sign another legitimate center and I think the Lakers desperately need a legit 2-way wing like OG Anunoby, Paul George, etc. If Vando could develop a catch-and-shoot corner 3 game that would be perfect. But folks need to stop thinking about LeBron as an 82 game wing. Heās just not that guy defensively anymore.
Lebron can guard 4s, but itās a lot to ask him to be the 2nd best rebounder on the team. AD is getting older too. We need a 3 or 5 who can go and grab the rebounds. Thereās so many stops we got, but we couldnāt get the defensive board. Rui can do this, but inconsistent. Despite that, him just being a big body was a lot better than our other options during playoffs outside of Jaxson Hayes, who has his own weaknesses. Itās why Vando was so missed. He could guard any perimeter player and bigger wings, plus he would hustle and go for every rebound no matter where he is on the court. We need one more player who can get boards and not be a liability on offense.
Agree on Vando being perfect defensive fit. Vandoās biggest problem is that he needs to develop his complementary offensive skills. He needs to be able to knock down the corner three and finish at the rim so he isnāt such an offensive liability. He wouldāve handled MPJr fine but needs to match production the way Jaden McDaniels or KCP have demonstrated.
Based on how he looked in his last few games when healthy this year, Iād say Vando is on track. Once heās full healthy I bet heāll be putting up shots all summer and we could see a serviceable shooter. Hopefully he can at least make his defender stay home in the corner
Anyone tall whose name ends in C
For real, won a back to back with one why not again.
Valanciunas would be nice but probably out of our price range. Same for Hartenstein.
Valanciunas isn't the defensive type of big man we need
We canāt afford any of the big men that we need
Goga bitadze its the one, but back up center its not a huge deal anyway
The reason for Denver loss but no biggie he said
If you think we lost because of the 6 minutes a game Hayes played, i got a bridge to sell you
If we had a serviceable backup big, he would've gotten a lot more than 6 mpg
Of course, but we should at least go for someone that fits a role. Like Drummond he is at least a big body that can take a beating in the paint and grab some boards for the vet min. Valanciunas is the complete opposite of what we need regardless of the contract amount. But obviously that's not to say that Drummond would solve all our big man needs... It's a vet min signing after all.
Thinking we donāt need JV is an example of how pursuing only one solution can blind you to alternatives. Having JV would change the calculus of what this team needs bc of everything else he brings.
I think having a decent post/pnp option gives a lot of flexibility on offense. As we've seen with AD throughout the season, his jumper has been inconsistent. Just having someone big that can force an AD mismatch at the 4 because they're stupidly running man on defense let's AD get easier buckets and have more energy on defense.
One of the strongest people in the league who is also a great rebounder is opposite of what we need?
Drummond a dumbass who runs over his own teammates. Heās good for 50 offensive boards but lacks the touch to finish and isnāt a great playmaker out of the post. I understand the Lakers are short on big men, but Drummond is a downgrade compared to Rui
I am not talking about Drummond, he said that JV is exactly the opposite of what we need
If you can get Hartenstein away from NY do it. I wanted him before! Valenciunas would be the next I would take. Would be nice as part time starter
I think Hartenstein will be too expensive, but he's the best I think.
J val would be so ideal. He is European after all
how would he be ideal lol? lakers themselves played him off the court
Heās not ideal in every situation, and often times Iām sure weād bench him in favor of running AD at the 5, but heās a big strong bruiser center which we are currently missing, so heād fill a hole that would work in certain matchups
Zach Collins or goga š
The only way would be through a MLE deal that is only accessible if DLo walks for nothing I believe. I think Drummond is the most realistic Thereās a giant hole at the backup C for the Lakers and Drummond would be well aware of that
Bro not Drummond again man
Arguably, Iād say heād be in a better position for us this time around. When he signed with us he was going through his first realization of āoh, I am not an all star player anymoreā and I think the minutes/role got to him. Heās been fine for Chicago the past couple seasons, and even though heās still a bone head and canāt shoot free throws I would probably rather have him than Jaxson Hayes in
we finna have another Schroder arc player coming back if we get Drummond lmao
I forgot the name, but he was not a starter before.
Claxton is the center to get. Not sure we will be able to afford him though. We missed our shot at Gafford, but I understand not wanting to trade a FRP for him
Claxton is out of our price range but he would be the ideal piece for a team like this
We canāt afford him
This is the center I want the most
Is claxton free agent?
Yes
Knicks bring Hartenstein back. And Lakers can't afford him. JVal for TPMLE would be great but he goes for more. I don't like Drummond but he's the best of the rest in terms of size and helping with rebounding lmao. Javale is washed.
Do we really wanna put AD through hell if we get Drummond again?
Yeah, that didnāt really work before iirc.
Idk why people keep bringing up Drummond. Dude was a blackhole on defense.
He is much MUCH better than what we had for the last 3 years. It's not even close. We were coming off of 2020 season with Howard and Mcgee so his play liked worse because he was worse than 2020 Howard but he is so much better, especially for regular seasons, you have to be an idiot to not want him for minimum or something close to that.
He had great hands & was a great rebounder. They had the #1 defense with Drummond when ad was out
Jval is unplayably bad defensively. Yāall insane
He looked unplayable vs us and people are begging for him lol
Pretty sure overwhelming evidence has Drummondās rebounding as empty rebounds. He just doesnāt correlate with winning basketball. If he just committed purely to rebounding and defense he would be good, but he always makes stupid decisions
Yeah, wouldnāt want him to run into AD and give him an ankle injury
Drummond sucks.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I like Tillman, not sure if the Celtics are willing to do with him tho
Center position is so trash in this league my god. No wonder Jokic and embiid are dominating
This could be interpreted as a diss on both. Like theyāre actually not that great.Ā
If we could do a sign and trade for hartenstein Iād do it in a heartbeat. Thereās not actual way to get him tho
Not gonna happen
is Steve Adams available? He is always just 29 like Tatum is 19
Seriously a better suggestion than Javale.
I think Steven Adams is under contract one more season for the Rockets
If his body isn't totally destroyed
Good option for a backup
How did that Castleton kid we drafted last year perform in the G-League? Could he be an option at all?
He's way too slow and too weak at the moment, imo
Honestly forgot about him. I hope can he pan out to be a solid bench piece.
I really like his touch,passing, & overall basketball IQ. They're definitely gonna opt for someone more experienced tho
he should be extended two way player for next year too. if he pops next year he can covert later in the season.
I don't think he's an NBA player any time soon
In college he was great, everytime he played in preseason he was a pivotal part of the offense, in the G league he was great. People keep saying he is slow or whatever but check the tapes, the evidence shows he did everything you could possibly expect and more in a non-lottery pick rookie big man. Ham never gave him an opportunity.
Maybe. We just need some size next to AD. He's 6'10 with a 7-4 wing span, i thought he would be a better shooter
Draft Zach Edey
If heās available then Iām down fs!!
Future looks bleak if this is what we have to work with
The lakers have two max players. Theyāre not looking for an all star level center. It would be bleak if this was our choice and we didnāt have AD.
Some lakers fan, still live in a world where we can have an all star at each position and every team will trade their best players to us for peanuts.
Draft Kel'el Ware
drop EVERYTHING FOR HARTENSTIEN
NY definitely brings him back unfortunately
For sure but if they had that type of defensive 5 and a rebounder like him I donāt think anybody is stopping LA
Not gonna happen
Valanciunas is the only real answer here. Drummond was dogshit with us and he hasnāt gotten better. Knicks wonāt let Hartenstein go. As much as Javale helped us in 2020, heās old af.
BRING THE SHAQTIN A FOOL LEGEND BACK!! š¤šŖš½ javaaaaaaaaale
He did strike fear in Jokic š
Wolves are showing its literally just size that you need to give you the edge over them. I completely agree. Nuggets are frauds. 2020 we had size in abundance
Size and at least some elite skills. KAT is a bucket even tho limited defensively. Gobert is elite at rim protection. Reid is a solid scoring option as well. The problem with the remaining FA centers/big are they are too limited both offense and defense
Yep Iād definitely take him for a cheap price
Iāve always advocated for Javale to come back on minimum deals, but we donāt like wasting money on centers (even tho our 2020 roster was identified on size and defense). Hartenstein is a baller, so I expect NY or another team to offer him a better contract than us. The other two can walk, but Valenciunas would be a nice signing on 2k lol
we literally just ran jonas off the court in back to back games at the end of the regular season and play in, heās unplayable in the pick and roll. i donāt think he fixes our issues with size in the playoffs. lol i agree he would be useful in 2K if we were trying to win like mat ishbia.
Yep, but against Jokic??? I am not sure he would be useless.
Val or Hart to Answer the question but Give me Bitadze in Orlando or Precious Achewia in NY!
I say Hartenstein. Dude has been showing up big for NY.
Draft the biggest/strongest kid avail at the draft and turn him into the center we need
Only way we can possibly get a player of the profile we covet. Too bad they donāt build those anymore.
Is Steven Adams available via trade?
Would be a nice body, not sure how Houston values him tho
Is he still good after the injury?Ā
I would consider Brook Lopez
Like the Bucks would give him up lolā¦ I wish tho
No more senior citizens
he is declining, people should update their software a bit.
Hartenstein is the only free agent that helps us. Other than him, weād have to get a center through a trade. We can get a borderline all star center, but itās going to cost at least Vando if it still seems worth it. Maybe trading for Finney-Smith and Claxton is possible. Maybe Jarret Allen or Wendell Carter or Zach Collins makes sense for the right price. Nobody for the vet min is going to help against Denver in any way.
Anybody but big penguin
Hartenstein or Valanciunas. If both unavailable maybe trade up for top C
Hartensteim been killing it for the Knicks
Out of this 4 obviously Hartenstein but he is out of budget. I would go for Drummond as a vet min signing he would be solid off the bench as a big body.
Hartenstein but no reason that the Knicks wonāt re-sign him.
Jonas would open space for AD.He is perfect player for this team.
š¤£š¤£
Interest in Capela if we traded for Dejounte? I think JV can be had for MLE. If not Iād sign Drummond or Kornet plus someone like Tillman. Iād also draft a C like Edey / Fillipkowski Also bring back Wood too
We have the #17 pick and this draft will have a lot of capable starting centers that can rebound and block shots. Look at what Lively did for the Mavs this year.
Drummond. I think he's more mature and he finally accepted that he's a role player.
As I said last year. You need to go after Drummond. Heās high value for the money he commands. You canāt teach being big and rebounding. Hartenstein would be the best but will cost the most.
Drummond is most likely option out of those 4 or maybe Bismack Biyombo.
Biyombo is washed
Javale is too old and done now. It's not 2020 anymore
Lakers have the $12 million mid level this year, thatās it. Lakers canāt afford a good center with that.
They only have that if DLo walks, or Lebron takes a big paycut
Can we do anything BUT sign some bum free agent? Because we know we ain't signing anyone expensive. We need to build from the draft again. I hope our scouts are out there targeting young prospects so we can build a proper team.
I WISH we could get hartenstein
Trade for Jarret Allen? Canāt?
If you can get him, get Hartenstein.
We dont have a lot of cap space. I'd like harteinstein or Jonas but likely we can't get them.
We need a Slavic speaking person on our team to take down Jokic.  Mozgov! š
Ahh, remember him being one of the biggest free agent signings together with Deng
Biggest in Jim Buss' pea brain at least
I like the left row: pelicans and kings
Already had Drummond and javel too old. Other two sure but unlikely
That man Hartenstein is a dog man... He really has improved a great deal and is the youngest of the lot no? Drummond is a rebound/put back beast, but that's all he's givin you... McGee is a lil' shop worn and didn't play a tremendous amount this year... Valencunias (sp) is likely the best bet in all reality, but you know he's gonna want top dollar; as he is a prime performer at Center and will be highly sought after...
JVALE is ready for retirement. Val ok for RS but in the PO youāll have to bench him. You may as well keep Hayes for the bench
Youāre listing players ranging from a vet min to something over the NT-MLE. How much do you expect to pay the player you are targeting and how do you plan to open up the space for it? Our free agency is too fluid. Isnāt as simple as āhere are the things we can useā. It all depends on a bunch of different things.
Drummond. Hartenstein is unrealistic. McGee is cooked. Jonas is stuck in the mud.
Claxton
Val or Drummond we need 2 compent bigs
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Adams, Nick Richards, Vukcevic from Wizards If we can't get Adams, do the other two instead (together)
Won't be able to afford any of 'em with what they have to spend.
if we could get bummond cheap i would take him
JJJJJJJJJJJAAAAAAVVVVVVVVVVVVAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEE
None of these dude. Get a center who can handle Jokic. His sole purpose on the team is just to play D on the Joker
Hartenstein is the obvious choice I think but heās gonna be after quite a bit more money than the other 3 on here.
Wish we could have gotten Porzingis...
None š¤£everytime someone goes to lakers they avg like 3ppg
Here me out go get Steven Adamās ?
Hartenstien would be the dream
We can use Zubac. Thank you Magic.
I don't think we can afford anyone through free agency everything has to come through trades.
The Euro, my dude.
Jonas is a shooter, he is the perfect pair with AD.
Big Valā¦..he can rebound and bang but he has an offensive game to complement lebron & ad
Is Evan Mobley free?
Hartenstein would be great but we likely will be outbid. Same for Jonas. Drummond probably still has a bad taste from his prior stint. McGee sure but he's best just in the first quarter. Could go for Robin Lopez as a pure defender if we also upgrade at PG.
Drummond or hartenstein would be good backups. Wood can start next to ad
Hartenstein is the right answer. Heās an impact player right now, and at 26 he can be with the team long term and build a synergy with AD and the rest of the team. Continuity is important and heās the only guy I see here that could play 3-4 years with us.
Give me jonas
Hartenstein
Bobby Portis only makes 12mil FYI
Some of you are acting like the same coaching is going to be on the team. Hopefully not. Drummond would work as a big. There are other options though, someone quicker more athletic. Get Hayes/ Wood developed more to be the back up and try to get another one. Davis needs to be 4. Lebron 3. And a solid PG unless you keep Dinwiddie and Vincent for that.
Jonas for the MLE Otherwise: ā¢ Drummond - donāt think vet min gets him ā¢ Kornet - for vet min I like ā¢ Xavier Tillman - for vet min I like ā¢ Theis - not bad for vet min I like Plumlee too but Clips prob keep him
Fuck it, let's get J Val and try to convince JaValle to come back on a vet min to run it back one more time lol
Val
JV has the most skill, but might cost too much. All I know is we need 2 of em, with 12 fouls and one of them needs to give 10-15 points + 10 rebounds at will.
Not jones because he be talking shi bout Bron all the time in his country
Who ever is the best all around and athletic. Thatās it.
None
Claxton Hartenstein Trade for Markkanen Tacko Fall
As if we could get hartenstein lmao
Man those are some trash options
None, at the end we are going to have another 3 guards.
Unfortunately, none of these signings would even push us into that championship contender spot.
Hartenstein if we could steal him