The Los Angeles Lakers get whatever they want.
At least, that's how it feels to teams left outside the inner circle of free agent destinations. Players want to live in Los Angeles and wear the historic purple-and-gold jerseys of the Lakers. There are a handful of other franchises with a lot of draw -- the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks -- but no one can match the Lakers.
The Toronto Raptors are feeling that sting once more as the Lakers have swooped in and snatched a free agent that should have signed with the Raptors. Yet once again, California beats Canada.
The Raptors have a need at backup center. They are going for the "warm bodies" approach right now, hoping that two late-round rookies and the declining Chris Boucher can fill the minutes behind Jakob Poeltl, with a little help at times from Kelly Olynyk. What they could have used was another shot blocker with size to step in when Poeltl was off the court, and especially when he missed games altogether.
The Raptors once had their center of the future on the roster in Christian Koloko, but after a promising rookie season he developed blood clots and was forced to step away from basketball. He was recently cleared to return, and he was free to sign with the any team in the league because of a massive blunder made by the Raptors.
The Raptors waived Christian Koloko earlier this year
It was not clear whether Christian Koloko would be able to return to the NBA, but the Raptors held onto his contract while they waited to find out. Then, at this year's Trade Deadline, they were confronted with a choice: they could trade Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers for three players, but they would need to waive someone currently on the roster to do so.
Toronto elected to waive Koloko, relinquishing any and all rights to his contract when and if he returned to the NBA. They did so to take on the contract of Kira Lewis Jr., whom they would soon reroute to the Utah Jazz. The Raptors were never going to play Lewis, but instead of finding a team to reroute him to, or executing the trade differently, they waived Koloko as if he would never be able to return to the league.
Now he has been cleared to play just a few months later, and reportedly was looking at a handful of teams in the NBA, including the Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers. It should never have been an open market to begin with, but since it was, Koloko was free to sign with any team he wanted. He chose the Lakers.
The Lakers signed Christian Koloko
The Lakers are likewise working with a patchwork collection of players at backup center, including Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and two-way big Colin Castleton. Christian Koloko is far enough removed from his rookie season that it's unclear if he will be better than those players, but the upside is certainly well above them.
Koloko is 7'1" tall with a menacing frame and wingspan, and he should be an ideal defensive backup to Davis if he can earn the playing time. All reports are that he looks and plays as if he were fully healthy. The Lakers will almost certainly benefit from having him on the roster if he is healthy.
The Raptors were not limited to minimum salaries like the Lakers. They could have offered Koloko a fully-guaranteed contract, or even something slightly more than the minimum. Instead, a player who should have been on their roster the whole time is now in Los Angeles, playing for less money and behind a high-minute starting big.
The Lakers always win. They shouldn't have even had a car in the race, but a careless move by the Raptors opened up the door. They slunk in and stole a big man, and it may come back to haunt Toronto.
