{"id":145293,"date":"2025-06-18T06:00:39","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T10:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=145293"},"modified":"2025-06-18T00:32:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T04:32:10","slug":"lakers-insider-center-plans-trade-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/18\/lakers-insider-center-plans-trade-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Insider Reveals Plan of Attack at Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the NBA offseason nearly in full swing, the Lakers have several avenues to address positions of need. The biggest\u2014literally and figuratively\u2014is the five spot, where the talk of Tinseltown is which centers the Lakers are targeting and if help could come from trades or free agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to ClutchPoints\u2019 Anthony Irwin, the answer is both. The senior Lakers insider <\/span>confirmed<\/span><\/a> the team is hoping to \u201ctrade for their starting center\u201d while signing a backup to the taxpayer mid-level exception. He also mentioned several targets LA is reportedly considering\u2014they all fit the criteria for Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick and have been connected to the Lakers for quite some time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lakers Insider Reveals Plan of Attack at Center<\/b><\/h2>\n

Trade Targets<\/b><\/h3>\n

Walker Kessler<\/b><\/h4>\n

Utah\u2019s breakout starter <\/span>Walker Kessler<\/span><\/a> could find himself <\/span>on the trade block under new leadership<\/span><\/a>, with new president Austin Ainge expected to move on from key players. The Lakers\u2014who attempted to trade for Kessler in January\u2014are still intrigued<\/a> by the 23-year-old big man, who averaged 11 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks per game this year. An athletic 7-footer and a double-double machine, Kessler is arguably the best option for the purple and gold\u2014that is, if Utah is willing to come to the table again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nic Claxton<\/b><\/h4>\n

Stuck on a Brooklyn Nets team running an express train to purgatory, <\/span>Nic Claxton<\/span><\/a> is another relatively popular name in Lakers Nation, most likely for his prowess as an effective two-way big. The ex-Georgia Bulldog is coming off a productive campaign: 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 blocks. However, he also has <\/span>three years and nearly $70 million<\/span><\/a> left on his current contract. With the Nets not going anywhere anytime soon and the Lakers looking toward the future, the 26-year-old Claxton can be a promising piece next to <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jan
Jan 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robert Williams III<\/b><\/h4>\n

The Lakers were tied to the \u201cTimelord\u201d back in December, and for what it\u2019s worth, <\/span>Robert Williams III<\/span><\/a> is a unique name to watch. He\u2019s undersized for a big (6\u20199\u201d) and is coming off an injury-riddled season. But <\/span>Williams<\/span><\/a>, when healthy, is a defensive-minded five who can hang with the best of them, not to mention his <\/span>elite finishing as a lob threat<\/span><\/a>. Pelinka did say he\u2019d look at <\/span>several types of centers<\/span><\/a>, and the team even considering Williams proves that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Free Agent Targets<\/b><\/h3>\n

Brook Lopez<\/b><\/h4>\n

A somewhat athletic floor spacer and 2021 NBA Champion, it may not hurt to bring <\/span>Brook Lopez<\/span><\/a> in for a second stint in LA. The 37-year-old still has something left in the tank, averaging 13 points and five rebounds while shooting 37% from deep this year. Lopez, who was the Lakers\u2019 starting center in 2017-18, has kept that role in Milwaukee the last seven seasons. However, as he reaches the twilight of his career, there\u2019s no doubt he\u2019d make a reliable option for the second unit, especially as a physical big who can score at all three levels with decent defense to boot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clint Capela<\/b><\/h4>\n

A former starter who recently moved to a backup role, <\/span>Clint Capela<\/span><\/a> may need a <\/span>change of scenery<\/span><\/a> as the <\/span>Hawks<\/span><\/a> fly in a new direction. The 31-year-old Swiss big man averaged 8.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and one block per game on 56% shooting from the field, but eventually came off the bench in favor of <\/span>Onyeka Okongwu<\/span><\/a> (another <\/span>Lakers trade target<\/span><\/a>). Known for his interior presence and, particularly, his rebounding, <\/span>Capela<\/span><\/a> can fix some of LA\u2019s shortcomings while boasting significant playoff experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

With the NBA offseason nearly in full swing, the Lakers have several avenues to address positions of need. The biggest\u2014literally and figuratively\u2014is the five spot, where the talk of Tinseltown is which centers the Lakers are targeting and if help could come from trades or free agency. According to ClutchPoints\u2019 Anthony Irwin, the answer is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":145297,"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":[1608,26,62,4721],"tags":[50219,233,346,1133,2357,759,4613,4513],"class_list":["post-145293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-trade-rumors","tag-2025-nba-free-agents","tag-brook-lopez","tag-clint-capela","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nicolas-claxton","tag-rob-pelinka","tag-robert-williams-iii","tag-walker-kessler"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145293","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=145293"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145308,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145293\/revisions\/145308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}