This offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have made it clear they intend to build around the face of their franchise: Luka Doncic. The Lakers got right to work in free agency, welcoming several newcomers to LA like Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes, Ziaire Williams, Jaden Hardy (through trade), Kevon Looney, and perhaps their biggest (pun intended) add of the summer: Walker Kessler coming over from the Utah Jazz in a blockbuster deal.
Similarly, the Lakers managed to retain cornerstone Austin Reaves on a years-long extension, locking him in alongside Luka Doncic as key pieces for the future.
Now, as I mentioned those names listed above, you might’ve noticed I left one name off the list. I did so intentionally as that missing player is Sandro Mamukelashvili, the Raptors’ standout big man bench spark from this past season. Mamu lived up to his modest contract and then some this past year, where those efforts helped land him a significant pay increase of $52 million over four years in LA.
Though it might seem like the Lakers have their roster close to set in stone given this busy offseason, they may not actually be done making improvements just yet. Dan Woike of The Athletic wrote in a Lakers intel piece on July 20: “The Lakers are still monitoring the market for big men, team sources told The Athletic. They traded for Walker Kessler and signed Kevon Looney to play center, and Mamukelashvili can play the position, too.“
Los Angeles already managed to snag a Raptors big away from Toronto, but in their pursuit of additional center help, it could lead them right back to the Raps for a Jakob Poeltl trade. The status of Poeltl within this current Raptors construct has been a massive question mark, with or without this hazy Kawhi Leonard trade at play.
Jakob Poeltl could have a fresh start with the Los Angeles Lakers
On one hand, Toronto’s only true 7-footer lies in Poeltl, but he’s also shown immense regression and has been outshined at his position by hungry youngster Collin Murray-Boyles. That conversation of running CMB full-time at the center spot has been one of its own, but nevertheless, it doesn’t change the fact that Poeltl’s days as starting five-man should probably be over.
But finding a willing destination for him has largely been Toronto’s obstacle regarding Poeltl. The Kings and Grizzlies have been mentioned as rumored suitors in the past, and in Memphis’ case, it was a team I looked at a while back as still a possible landing spot.
LA has the contract of Jarred Vanderbilt, who is winding down on the final two years of his $48 million deal, to match Jak’s. Meanwhile, making up the rest of the money could be sorted by including one or somehow a combination of either Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy, or Bronny James — all assets the Lakers are reportedly working to move on from.
The potential benefit of such a deal for Toronto in this case is that Vanderbilt, along with Knecht and Hardy, hold next to no positive value on the market. Of course, the same case can be said for Jakob Poeltl, but aside from perhaps an arranged pick swap or shifting second-rounders — a Lakers-Raptors transaction could look very modest.
Essentially, both teams work to swap their 'undesirable' player contracts and try to find a new path with the fresh faces coming aboard. And in Poeltl's case, going on to LA to play alongside Luka Doncic, a player who has made a living in the NBA making even some modest centers look incredible — it could be a golden opportunity to revive his dwindling career.
For Toronto, figuring out what to do at center in the aftermath would obviously be a key concern (more than it already is now), but seeing as they have an all-in mentality on positionless or a versatile all-forward lineup — maybe it wouldn’t be much of a hit on the Raptors after all.
In such hypothetical scenario, the Raps find a way to move on from the largely untradeable Poeltl, while Los Angeles adds a veteran big who might be on the downturn, but still a fitting backup (or even an emergency starter) to slot in behind their frontcourt options at present.
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