The Los Angeles Lakers‘ search for a center to pair with Luka Dončić could lead them to one of his former teammates.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale predicts that the Lakers would trade for either Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II or Kristaps Porziņģis.
“Everybody knows the Los Angeles Lakers need centers. Plural. The mini mid-level exception of $5.7 million might get them one, but a bigger splash will require taking to the trade market, where they can dangle Dalton Knecht, short-term salary, one first-round pick (2031) and up to four swaps (2026, 2028, 2030, 2032),” Favale wrote.
Among the three of Dončić’s former running mates, Favale ranked the 21-year-old Lively on top of as the ideal Lakers center. But he’d cost more. On top of that, there is skepticism that th Dallas Mavericks will trade with the Lakers again in the immediate future after the backlash they received in the Dončić.
But it’s the 29-year-old Porziņģis, whom Favale predicts would be the easiest to get among them.
“Porziņģis and Dončić never quite figured it out during their time together in Dallas. But the former is at a different point in his career and has already noted he holds no ill will towards his former teammate,” Favale wrote.
Porziņģis-Dončić Fallout in Dallas
The Boston Celtics center played with Dončić for two-and-a-half seasons in Dallas. Differing styles and Porziņģis’ health issues contributed to the fallout between the two European talents.
Porziņģis could not put a finger on why it didn’t work out in Dallas for him and Dončić.
“It just wasn’t perfect for us playing together, and it didn’t work out,” the 7-foot-1 Latvian center said during the 2024 NBA Finals. “And that’s it. There’s no ill will, I don’t think from their side. For sure, [there is not] from my side. I don’t think there should be. It just didn’t work out…
“I don’t know why it didn’t work out. We were still both young. We tried to make it work, but it just didn’t work. So we moved on.”
A this stage of their careers, the former All-Star Porziņģis have come to accept he’s now just a role player. Can it be sweeter the second time around with Dončić if the Lakers trade for him?
GettyKristaps Porzingis and Dereck Lively II during Game Two of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
With Jayson Tatum set to miss most, if not the whole next season due to his Achilles injury, the Celtics are projected to enter a gap year and make significant changes to a roster that has a staggering $500 million payroll, including luxury tax penalties.
One of those moves could involve Porziņģis, who was a non-factor in the Celtics’ abruptly halted playoff run, NBA insider Marc Stein reported in May, following the Celtics’ second-round exit.
“Most rival teams continue to regard Kristaps Porziņģis as the most movable Boston vet thanks to the Latvian big man’s $30.7 million expiring contract,” Stein wrote on the “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter.
The 7-foot-1 center played a pivotal role in his first season with the Celtics last year, which ended in Boston’s 18th championship. However, a mysterious respiratory illness rendered him ineffective in this dispirited Celtics playoff run, particularly in their second-round loss to the New York Knicks.
Lakers’ Trade Talks
The Lakers have been actively seeking a trade for a center with leftover resources they have after trading for Dončić at the trade deadline.
According to Anthony Irwin of Clutchpoints, the Lakers have held trade talks for three centers on the market this offseason.
“Sources close to the team reiterated that the internal plan is to trade for their starting center – sources say they’ve held conversations with other teams about Nic Claxton, Robert Williams, Walker Kessler and others – then, ideally, use the taxpayer midlevel on his backup –Brook Lopez and Clint Capela are the two names most often linked to the Lakers,” Irwin wrote.
“It’s a solid plan that they’re considered likely to be able to execute. But, because of their clear and desperate need at the position, such an approach is going to be a lot more complicated than it would’ve been had they not neglected the position the past couple of seasons.”
No trade talks yet have been reported linking the Lakers to Porziņģis.
