One NBA contender might still be a piece short of reaching its goals.
This season, the basketball world was turned upside down when the Los Angeles Lakers traded for superstar Luka Doncic. Sending Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers catapulted into championship discussions, with the duo of Doncic and LeBron James expected to be enough to get the Lakers on a deep playoff run.
However, nearly three months later, the Lakers are on the brink of another first-round exit. Trailing 3-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the seemingly championship-ready squad will need three perfect games to keep its season alive. While sending Davis out for Doncic was an easy decision, it left the Lakers with a hole in the middle.
A trade deadline deal to acquire Mark Williams seemed to fix that problem. However, the Lakers saw too many issues with Williams’ physical and called off the deal.
That left the Lakers looking to Jaxson Hayes as the starting center for the rest of the season. While Hayes was fine in the regular season, he has been nearly unplayable in the playoffs, with JJ Redick using the same five guys in a small-ball lineup for the entire second half of Game 4.
Although the Lakers still have a chance to get out of this 3-1 hole, they might soon need to look to the offseason. Of course, making a deal for a big man would be the top priority.
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In a recent article, Bleacher Report suggested the Lakers add Nets big man Nic Claxton. In the proposed trade, the Lakers would send Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber and first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030 to Brooklyn.
Although the Lakers are giving up some valuable pieces, Claxton averaged 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while also giving Doncic a screener and lob threat. Sure, Claxton wouldn’t suddenly make the Lakers a perfect team, but he could make them a much more complete squad and even a title favorite in 2026.
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