{"id":137423,"date":"2025-05-02T19:35:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T23:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=137423"},"modified":"2025-05-02T19:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T23:35:12","slug":"lakers-three-centers-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/02\/lakers-three-centers-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Centers Lakers Could Pursue After Early Exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lakers<\/a> now enter the offseason far earlier than expected, and they must use the coming months to fill gaping holes in their roster around <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a>. One of the biggest that Rob Pelinka noted in a Thursday press conference was the need for a center.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We know this offseason, one of our primary goals is going to be add size in our frontcourt at the center position and that\u2019s gonna just be part of the equation,\u201d the Lakers\u2019 GM and President of Basketball Operations <\/span>said<\/span><\/a>. He added that finding a <\/span>\u201clob threat\u201d<\/span><\/a> who can protect the paint would be ideal, but he will canvas the league for other effective options.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers have limited cap space this summer, currently holding a mid-level exception that starts around $5.7 million. That would rule out big names such as <\/span>Myles Turner<\/span><\/a>, who fits the Lakers\u2019 needs with his size, shooting and defense, but will also command <\/span>a salary outside of LA\u2019s price range<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, there are other veteran options for the purple and gold to consider. Here are three bigs the Lakers could target this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three Centers Lakers Could Pursue After Early Exit<\/b><\/h2>\n

Clint Capela<\/b><\/h3>\n

Clint Capela<\/span><\/a> could look for a change of scenery after five seasons in \u201cThe A.\u201d The Hawks are in limbo following their second consecutive Play-in Tournament loss and recent dismissal of GM Landry Fields<\/a>. They also benched Capela for 24-year-old <\/span>Onyeka Okongyu<\/span><\/a> and attempted to move him at the deadline, leading to the \u201cearly expectation\u201d that he\u2019ll move on this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Across 55 games, the 30-year-old averaged 8.9 points (55% FG), 8.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.9 blocks. He is also coming off of a season-ending <\/span>eft hand injury<\/span><\/a> after being shut down in March. Capela has been a serviceable part of Atlanta\u2019s defense and a productive scorer in the paint, throwing down the <\/span>occasional lobs<\/span><\/a>. His ability to crash the glass could help the Lakers the most. His rebounding average was <\/span>third among all Hawks<\/span><\/a> this season, and 3.2 of his rebounds were offensive\u2014a point of emphasis for head coach JJ Redick this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even at almost 31 years old, Capela would be a solid five capable of scoring in transition and playing a key role in LA\u2019s defense. With the Lakers\u2019 center options already slim, he\u2019s at least worth a look this offseason.<\/span><\/p>\n

Steven Adams<\/b><\/h3>\n

A near 7-foot bruiser, <\/span>Steven Adams<\/span><\/a> can boost the Lakers with his physicality and postseason experience. He came off the bench for second-seeded Houston Rockets and battled various knee and ankle injuries in the process. However, he\u2019s managed to provide solid minutes on a young contender and could be a viable solution to some of LA\u2019s problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 58 games, the 31-year-old averaged 3.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on 54% shooting from the field. They are not necessarily eye-catching numbers, but for 13.7 minutes a night, they\u2019ll do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adams\u2019 265-pound frame has been instrumental in wreaking havoc in the paint, as he grabbed 22% of the Rockets\u2019 boards this year (the same went for their offensive rebounds). His <\/span>rock solid screens<\/span><\/a> have also become the talk of the town on social media, which would help James, Doncic, and <\/span>Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a> as the team\u2019s primary ball handlers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adams was a consistent starter before he missed the entirety of last season due to knee surgery. It may be a while before he can get to that level again, but he may be able to fill that role with the Lakers, who will need more physicality up front to match the West\u2019s elite bigs. \u201cAquaman\u201d can\u2019t save all of LA\u2019s problems, but he could shore up most of them at the right price.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brook Lopez<\/b><\/h3>\n

Finally, a reunion could be in the cards with ex-Stanford product <\/span>Brook Lopez<\/span><\/a>, who donned the purple and gold during the 2017-18 season. The 7\u20191\u201d center started 80 games for the Bucks<\/a> and averaged 13 points, five rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.8 assists on .509\/.373\/.826 splits. However, he was limited in the first round against the Pacers, putting up 5.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lopez\u2019s defense and floor spacing are the main attractors toward a second stint with the Lakers, as the team fluctuated in both departments over the course of the season. His production at 37 years old is a very encouraging sign, and he should have several suitors waiting if things don\u2019t work out with Milwaukee. The 2021 NBA champion was even considered the <\/span>betting favorite<\/span><\/a> to be LA\u2019s starting center next year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the many \u201crealistic\u201d centers the Lakers could go after, Lopez would be one of the best. His ability to put up starting-caliber numbers this late into his career is laudable, even if he only has a few more left in the tank. LA would benefit from bringing Lopez back, as he fills multiple roles to a tee and patches holes on both ends of the floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Benny Sieu-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lakers now enter the offseason far earlier than expected, and they must use the coming months to fill gaping holes in their roster around LeBron James and Luka Doncic. One of the biggest that Rob Pelinka noted in a Thursday press conference was the need for a center. \u201cWe know this offseason, one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":137427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,4,31,26,15,62],"tags":[4556,233,346,38,1133,759,543],"class_list":["post-137423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-hawks","category-rockets","category-lakers","category-bucks","category-nba","tag-austin-reaves","tag-brook-lopez","tag-clint-capela","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-rob-pelinka","tag-steven-adams"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137423"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137440,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137423\/revisions\/137440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}