{"id":147165,"date":"2025-06-26T13:49:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T17:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=147165"},"modified":"2025-06-26T13:49:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T17:49:52","slug":"los-angeles-lakers-center-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/26\/los-angeles-lakers-center-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Lakers Make Bold Draft Trade to Solve Center Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/26\/lakers-austin-reaves-extension-decision\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> need a center, and everyone in the league knows that. Rob Pelinka, their GM, talked recently about how they are going to address the center situation this summer. They will have two avenues to find a center, via the draft or free agency.<\/p>\n<h2>Los Angeles Lakers Make Bold Draft Trade to Solve Center Crisis<\/h2>\n<p>The Lakers recently traded their 55th overall pick and cash considerations to the Chicago Bulls for the 45th overall pick. That move should give them a bit more chance to draft a quality center who can fill 10 to 15 minutes per game. They are not getting someone like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/livelde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dereck Lively<\/a> to pair with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a> in the draft, that is for sure. But if they can find a backup, and hope to sign or trade for a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/19\/lakers-in-talks-with-rivals-for-john-collins-and-walker-kessler\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">starting quality center<\/a>, they would be fine. Right now, they have no center on their roster.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Los Angeles Lakers are moving up in the second round of the NBA Draft tonight, acquiring the No. 45 pick from the Chicago Bulls for No. 55 and cash, sources tell ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1938271212175605831?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Best Centers Left in the Draft<\/h3>\n<p>The Lakers probably hoped to move further up in the draft, but for now, this is what they are getting. There might be some quality <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/draft\/bestavailable\/_\/position\/c\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">backup centers<\/a> when they pick. The best center left in the draft according to mock drafts is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/maxime-raynaud-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maxime Raynaud<\/a>, but he will almost certainly be gone by the time the Lakers pick. The Boston Celtics are widely regarded as his landing spot. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/ryan-kalkbrenner-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ryan Kalkbrenner<\/a> is another solid center who will surely be off the board. The Charlotte Hornets, after <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/26\/nba-trade-grades-who-won-mark-williams-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">trading away<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willima07.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark Williams<\/a>, might be interested in getting Ryan, an experienced center who can operate in the pick-and-roll effectively.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_139804\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-139804\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-139804 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25971162_168402037_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Apr 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka walks on the couet prior to the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25971162_168402037_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25971162_168402037_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25971162_168402037_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25971162_168402037_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25971162_168402037_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25971162_168402037_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/USATSI_25971162_168402037_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-139804\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apr 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka walks on the couet prior to the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/16\/2025-nba-mock-draft-lakers-prospects\/\" target=\"_self\">Lakers<\/a>&#8216; best hope is that one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/johni-broome-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Johni Broome<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/international\/players\/rocco-zikarsky-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rocco Zikarsky<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/vladislav-goldin-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vladislav Goldin<\/a> will be available. Those are not names that the Lakers fans will get excited about. But all three can provide some solid backup minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Broome, for example, is a physical center who can play inside out and has a good feel for the game. He was a finalist for the Wooden Award. Zikarsky might be too young for the Lakers to consider, but he has massive size and good defensive potential. Goldin might be their best option, a seasoned senior with size and length. He can play above the rim, but he lacks the quickness to guard in space.<\/p>\n<h3>Do the Lakers Have Money for Free Agency?<\/h3>\n<p>Right now, the Lakers have $191 million in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/contracts\/LAL.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">committed salary<\/a> for the 2025-26 season. That can change, depending on what happens with the player options of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/finnedo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a>. But in all likelihood, the Lakers will remain below the first apron, and above the luxury tax for next season.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25175189-report-nba-salary-cap-luxury-tax-1st-and-2nd-apron-levels-revealed-2025-26\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Projections<\/a> for the luxury tax are at $187 million, while the first apron is projected at $195.9 million. If they end up below the luxury tax, the Los Angeles Lakers will have the non-tax mid-level exception to offer to a center, which is $14 million. If they are above the tax, the Lakers can offer only $5 million as a tax mid-level exception. They can also explore the trade market and hope to get a center, but they tried that at the deadline and didn\u2019t find success.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Lakers need a center, and everyone in the league knows that. Rob Pelinka, their GM, talked recently about how they are going to address the center situation this summer. They will have two avenues to find a center, via the draft or free agency. Los Angeles Lakers Make Bold Draft Trade to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5291,"featured_media":147179,"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":[1608,8,26,62,556,4721],"tags":[50009,38,1133],"class_list":["post-147165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-bulls","category-lakers","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-trade-rumors","tag-johni-broome","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147165","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\/5291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147165"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147180,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147165\/revisions\/147180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}