{"id":148534,"date":"2025-07-02T15:54:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=148534"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:54:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:54:46","slug":"lakers-trade-rumors-orlando-magic-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/02\/lakers-trade-rumors-orlando-magic-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Could Solve Center Problems with One Bold Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Lakers search high and low for help at the five, one insider confirmed that, in addition to <\/span>conference rivals<\/span><\/a>, they\u2019ve reached out to a young contender about two of their prominent centers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lakers Could Solve Center Problems with One Bold Trade<\/b><\/h2>\n

Siegel: Lakers Inquired About Pair of Orlando Bigs<\/b><\/h3>\n

In a <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> detailing the Lakers\u2019 many pursuits via trade, ClutchPoints\u2019 Brett Siegel said the team approached the Orlando Magic about <\/span>Wendell Carter Jr.<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Goga Bitadze<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>The Orlando Magic are another team the Lakers have contacted regarding <\/span>Wendell Carter Jr<\/span>. and Goga Bitadze, sources said. It is unknown at this time what the extent of these conversations was and whether the Magic are actively listening to offers for Carter, a valuable member of their frontcourt.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Magic are active this offseason after a first-round loss to the Celtics. With the East seemingly wide open, it\u2019s surprising they\u2019re willing to even broach the subject of trading their respective starting and backup bigs. However, with the <\/span>Lakers getting nowhere<\/span><\/a> with <\/span>Walker Kessler<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Deandre Ayton<\/span><\/a> situation up in the air<\/span><\/a> (until after 5 p.m. ET today), this may be a wise contingency plan if their free agency hopes fall short.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wendell Carter Jr.<\/b><\/h4>\n

A 26-year-old forward\/center, Carter Jr., would help LA as a physical and athletic big who spaces the floor and rebounds well. He ended his seventh year in the league averaging 9.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.6 blocks on .460\/.234\/.737 splits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though his defense is inconsistent, he\u2019s managed to string together <\/span>solid performances<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>holds his own in the post<\/span><\/a>. His 23% mark from three was also an outlier, as he came off three consecutive seasons shooting 30% or better from deep (32.7, 35.6, 37.4 from 2021-24, all on high volume).<\/span><\/p>\n

Carter Jr. has the size and shooting the Lakers lacked following the <\/span>Anthony Davis<\/span><\/a> trade, and is a unique trade candidate despite some defensive woes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Goga Bitadze<\/b><\/h4>\n

The 6\u201911\u201d and 250-pound Bitadze is coming off a career year where he split time between the second unit and starting lineup. In 70 games (42 starts), the 25-year-old averaged 7.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 blocks on .611\/.104\/.639 splits. Though not as much of a lob threat as Carter Jr., Bitadze has shown he can score off his teammates and make plays for them as well. He\u2019s also proven to be an effective paint defender, with <\/span>Silver Screen & Roll\u2019s Alex Regla<\/span><\/a> claiming he has a case as \u201c<\/span>one of the most underrated rim protectors in the NBA.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince entering the league, Bitadze has finished in the 90th percentile or higher in block percentage in four of the last six seasons. With modest height and wingspan, Bitadze instead picks up his swats thanks to his mobility, timing and solid defensive awareness.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With the Lakers striking out on backups so far, Bitadze could serve as an ideal fit for their future, as he continues to grow after a productive season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Feb
Feb 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze (35) blocks a shot by Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What Could the Lakers Give Up?<\/b><\/h3>\n

With Carter Jr. making $10.8 million next season and Bitadze $8.3 million, the Lakers could match those salaries with an expiring contract plus filler salary (e.g. <\/span>Dalton Knecht<\/span><\/a>\u2019s $4 million deal) if needed. They also have a tradable 2031 first-round pick and <\/span>five future swaps<\/span><\/a> (2026, \u201828, \u201830, \u201831 and \u201832) to include as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

As of right now, trading for Carter Jr. and\/or Bitadze seems like an easier route compared to current negotiations with Utah. The pair would be intriguing options and decent fits if other potential trades or signings fall through.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Lakers search high and low for help at the five, one insider confirmed that, in addition to conference rivals, they\u2019ve reached out to a young contender about two of their prominent centers. Lakers Could Solve Center Problems with One Bold Trade Siegel: Lakers Inquired About Pair of Orlando Bigs In a report detailing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":148540,"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":[1608,26,62,3,17,4721],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","category-magic","category-trade-rumors"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148534","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=148534"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148546,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148534\/revisions\/148546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}