Basketball fans everywhere were sent reeling as a colossal trade of unforeseen circumstances was completed in the wee hours of the morning.
No one had a clue. Everyone thought it was a hoax. People were scrambling to confirm its authenticity. Alas, the report was true.
Mavericks franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic would be dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in a superstar swap for defensive big man Anthony Davis. Other assets would be included in the deal, including a future Lakers pick and Max Christie headed for Dallas, but at the root, the deal was a straight one-for-one rerouting of stars.
Right now, although plans can change, it appears Hollywood is going to be the LeBron and Luka show. Even with two generational superstars at the helm, the Lakers are left with a serious setback in their roster construction given AD’s abrupt departure; Los Angeles severely lacks center depth.
Davis has shown to play a competent 5-man role in his career; however, he prefers to play the power forward position alongside a true center. AD has no shortage of centers over in Dallas, in the talented Dereck Lively II (unfortunately out for an extended period due to injury) and Daniel Gafford.
On the other hand, the Lakers’ only bigs left are Jaxson Hayes, Christian Koloko, Trey Jamison III, and maybe Jarred Vanderbilt running the small-ball five.
So, where could the Los Angeles Lakers search for a competent big man to fill in the gaps left by AD's exit? Rob Pelinka and his company can try calling up the Raptors in an attempt to acquire one of their rumored big men on the trade market.
Lakers could find their much-needed center waiting in Toronto
The rumor mill has stirred up enough substance to suggest Canadian veteran forwards Chris Boucher and Kelly Olynyk are on the imminent move, and either man is a clear upgrade at the five spot for Los Angeles. The Lakers currently hold the 5th seed out West, but a ton of speculation lies on their willingness to compete now or if there’s a grand plan in place for the future.
If they’d like to make a title push, the Lakers need to address center depth ASAP, and Toronto can maximize this opportunity to gain future assets. The only caveat here is that Los Angeles lost a lot of their already weakened draft capital in the deal, also dealing two second-rounders to Utah (along with Jalen Hood-Schifino) to complete the trade for Doncic.
Toronto could be enticed by a deal involving the Lakers' remaining second-round pick and one of Rui Hachimura or Gabe Vincent, just off the top of my head. I wouldn’t hold out hope for the Lakers giving up their 2030 or 2031 first, but hey, stranger things have happened.
Aside from the Raptors, the Lakers could also find their missing big man in Bulls center Nikola Vucevic or Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, but either move is likely going to warrant more value than one of Toronto’s bigs.
The ball is in both Toronto and Los Angeles' courts. The Raptors would likely play out the field first before biting the bullet on a Lakers offer, but a deal involving the two teams isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. The pressure is on for Toronto to emerge out of the trade deadline as winners, seeing as their name has drawed up a ton of interest of late.
The NBA world is still buzzing, and with the trade deadline drawing near, there are certainly more moves coming (although it doesn’t get any bigger than a Luka Doncic trade).