{"id":146664,"date":"2025-06-24T16:57:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T20:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=146664"},"modified":"2025-06-24T16:57:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T20:57:09","slug":"lakers-rumors-kristaps-porzingis-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/24\/lakers-rumors-kristaps-porzingis-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Expect Lakers to Acquire 7\u20192\u201d Rival"},"content":{"rendered":"

As fans eagerly wait for the Lakers to trade for a center, one insider says they can cross a rival\u2019s starter off their wish list.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Expect Lakers to Acquire 7\u20192\u201d Rival<\/b><\/h2>\n

Woike: Lakers Not Eyeing Porzingis Trade<\/b><\/h3>\n

According to <\/span>The Athletic\u2019s Dan Woike<\/span><\/a>, the Lakers won\u2019t swoop in for Celtics big man <\/span>Kristaps Porzingis<\/span><\/a> anytime soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that won\u2019t happen \u2014 another Don\u010di\u0107-Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is pairing. There\u2019s no indication that anyone wants to see that sequel.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s a different picture from the one painted by ClutchPoints\u2019 Brett Siegel, who noted LA is among <\/span>\u201c10-12 teams\u201d interested<\/span><\/a> in the Latvian big man.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are certainly cases for and against Porzingis donning the purple and gold. The pros? He immediately solves the Lakers\u2019 issues of size and shooting, all at a vital position of need for LA. At 29 years old, he averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 48.3% from the field and 41.3% from deep. The cons? He only played 42 games due to injuries and is coming off a mystery illness that rendered him ineffective in the playoffs, where he put up 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 11 games (7 starts).<\/span><\/p>\n

Aside from his lackluster production and concerning history, his previous stint with <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a> didn\u2019t go so well, either.<\/span><\/p>\n

On JJ Redick\u2019s podcast, formerly called <\/span>\u201cThe Old Man and the Three,\u201d<\/span><\/a> Porzingis acknowledged there was <\/span>tension<\/span><\/a> between him and Doncic. \u201c<\/span>But I think we both tried to make it work,\u201d he added. \u201cI think, communication and maturity on both our parts should have been better.\u201d Doncic<\/a> echoed a similar sentiment one month later.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of that would understandably be enough for the Lakers to pass on Porzingis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"May
May 7, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) shoots a free throw against the New York Knicks in the second half during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other Trade Targets Also in Limbo<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Lakers\u2019 options are growing slim as rival teams lock up their own starters. <\/span>Daniel Gafford<\/span><\/a>\u2014once considered a target earlier this summer\u2014will sign a three-year, $60 million extension<\/a> with the Mavericks, who aren\u2019t expected to deal with the Lakers after the Doncic debacle in February.\u00a0 By that logic, Laker fans shouldn\u2019t wait for <\/span>Dereck Lively II<\/span><\/a> to come over, either. He and Gafford split time as the starting center for Dallas, and the Mavs are likely holding onto both of them for the long haul.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding insult to injury, <\/span>Walker Kessler<\/span><\/a> has been <\/span>\u201cunavailable for some time,\u201d<\/span><\/a> according to insider Marc Stein. He also noted that any indication that the Lakers are suitors for <\/span>John Collins<\/span><\/a> is \u201ca mischaracterization.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

All in all, it seems like a bleak sight for a team that\u2019s desperate for help in the middle. However, Woike and Stein say the Lakers are prioritizing the position, with the former writing, \u201c…<\/span> there\u2019s urgency to find an answer \u2014 either short- or long-term.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Such urgency is why the Lakers shouldn\u2019t be counted out in the offseason. Now armed with <\/span>new ownership<\/span><\/a> that shares a commitment to success, there\u2019s no doubt the front office will be working tirelessly over the next few months. The team has clearly shown a knack for pulling off surprise transactions, and this summer should be no different.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As fans eagerly wait for the Lakers to trade for a center, one insider says they can cross a rival\u2019s starter off their wish list. Don\u2019t Expect Lakers to Acquire 7\u20192\u201d Rival Woike: Lakers Not Eyeing Porzingis Trade According to The Athletic\u2019s Dan Woike, the Lakers won\u2019t swoop in for Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":146666,"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":[1608,5,26,62,4721],"tags":[1453,4840,998,138,1133,4513],"class_list":["post-146664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-celtics","category-lakers","category-nba","category-trade-rumors","tag-daniel-gafford","tag-dereck-lively-ii","tag-john-collins","tag-kristaps-porzingis","tag-luka-doncic","tag-walker-kessler"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146664","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=146664"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146677,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146664\/revisions\/146677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}