Lakers Identify 6 Centers in Austin Reaves Trade as Rob Pelinka’s Personal Tie With East GM Revealed https://t.co/m1eedyKU5D via @es_sportsnews— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 13, 2025
Lakers Identify 6 Centers in Austin Reaves Trade
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June 13, 2025 4 Comments
FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:
The upcoming offseason promises to be full of action. Some of the biggest names are on the market. And a number of legacy franchises, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, are looking to nose dive in this pool. So far, there’s been one alarm in particular that’s rung in the Purple and Gold’s front office. They need a center to help add size and establish complete defensive coverage on their team. In doing so, they might chase the wildest options.
A name that continues to grow in popularity is Austin Reaves. The guard is adored by the Lakers fanbase, similar to Alex Caruso. He’s risen tremendously for someone who came into the NBA undrafted. However, with Luka Doncic as their point guard, the Lakers need a solid defense to truly squeeze the best out of him and LeBron James.
But what is Reaves really worth, in what looks to be a highly active offseason? Lakers experts Jovan Buha and Anthony Irwin sat down together and identified six potential centers the Lakers could target.
It’s important to first understand the priority, though. They both feel that a player who specializes in their role should be the player the Lakers target. And with a young and promising star like Reaves as the bait, they have some stellar names in the queue.
Three centers really stand out. “I’m looking for essentially young players, you know, under 30, top 50ish, good defensively. Uh, so a list of names that I think a lot of these are obvious, but I’m just stating them,” Buha said about them. Those names include Evan Mobley, the Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr., and Bam Adebayo.
All of them are elite at rim protection and have a high defensive ceiling. They are also versatile defenders who, per Irwin, are great for the “level of covering up for some of Luka’s weaknesses,”. The only issue is their contracts.
Evan Mobley will see a huge increase in his salary, jumping to $46 million. Bam Adebayo is making over $30 million. The only affordable option for Austin Reaves’ contract could be JJJ, who will be in his last season under contract next year. The value makes him an attractive option. But what about the other three centers? They might not need the Lakers to part ways with Austin Reaves.
Rob Pelinka could save Austin Reaves
It’s not that the Lakers won’t be willing to part ways with Austin Reaves. But if given the option, ideally, they would want him there. JJ Redick loves his vigor, and he continues to improve every season. In that case, the Lakers might have few options they could explore, taking advantage of the situation.
For Irwin, that would be Nic Claxton. It mainly stems from the league connections Rob Pelinka has. “I would probably say uh the Lakers have a history of working with Brooklyn on a deal just recent as recently as last summer when they got uh Dorian Finney-Smith. Uh, and we know that Rob does kind of like to work with the same executives around the league,” he pointed out on Buha’s YouTube channel.
Claxton is an agile center who can brighten the Lakers’ defensive game. While not an elite shot blocker, the Nets center has great anticipation on both ends of the floor, and the prospect of playing for the Lakers could tempt him.
Buha has another prime target on his list. According to him, Clint Capela moving to the Hawks’ bench makes him an option for the Lakers. The former Rockets big is adept at blocking shots and can serve as a formidable aerial threat to play beside Doncic. Another option is Brook Lopez, who will become a free agent. However, because Buha thinks his future depends on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s decision, he isn’t as firm on the stretch big.
FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:
The upcoming offseason promises to be full of action. Some of the biggest names are on the market. And a number of legacy franchises, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, are looking to nose dive in this pool. So far, there’s been one alarm in particular that’s rung in the Purple and Gold’s front office. They need a center to help add size and establish complete defensive coverage on their team. In doing so, they might chase the wildest options.
A name that continues to grow in popularity is Austin Reaves. The guard is adored by the Lakers fanbase, similar to Alex Caruso. He’s risen tremendously for someone who came into the NBA undrafted. However, with Luka Doncic as their point guard, the Lakers need a solid defense to truly squeeze the best out of him and LeBron James.
But what is Reaves really worth, in what looks to be a highly active offseason? Lakers experts Jovan Buha and Anthony Irwin sat down together and identified six potential centers the Lakers could target.
It’s important to first understand the priority, though. They both feel that a player who specializes in their role should be the player the Lakers target. And with a young and promising star like Reaves as the bait, they have some stellar names in the queue.
Three centers really stand out. “I’m looking for essentially young players, you know, under 30, top 50ish, good defensively. Uh, so a list of names that I think a lot of these are obvious, but I’m just stating them,” Buha said about them. Those names include Evan Mobley, the Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr., and Bam Adebayo.
All of them are elite at rim protection and have a high defensive ceiling. They are also versatile defenders who, per Irwin, are great for the “level of covering up for some of Luka’s weaknesses,”. The only issue is their contracts.
Evan Mobley will see a huge increase in his salary, jumping to $46 million. Bam Adebayo is making over $30 million. The only affordable option for Austin Reaves’ contract could be JJJ, who will be in his last season under contract next year. The value makes him an attractive option. But what about the other three centers? They might not need the Lakers to part ways with Austin Reaves.
Rob Pelinka could save Austin Reaves
It’s not that the Lakers won’t be willing to part ways with Austin Reaves. But if given the option, ideally, they would want him there. JJ Redick loves his vigor, and he continues to improve every season. In that case, the Lakers might have few options they could explore, taking advantage of the situation.
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For Irwin, that would be Nic Claxton. It mainly stems from the league connections Rob Pelinka has. “I would probably say uh the Lakers have a history of working with Brooklyn on a deal just recent as recently as last summer when they got uh Dorian Finney-Smith. Uh, and we know that Rob does kind of like to work with the same executives around the league,” he pointed out on Buha’s YouTube channel.
Claxton is an agile center who can brighten the Lakers’ defensive game. While not an elite shot blocker, the Nets center has great anticipation on both ends of the floor, and the prospect of playing for the Lakers could tempt him.
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Buha has another prime target on his list. According to him, Clint Capela moving to the Hawks’ bench makes him an option for the Lakers. The former Rockets big is adept at blocking shots and can serve as a formidable aerial threat to play beside Doncic. Another option is Brook Lopez, who will become a free agent. However, because Buha thinks his future depends on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s decision, he isn’t as firm on the stretch big.
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Some of these guys are just ridiculous to even mention. Miami ain’t trading Bam. Memphis ain’t trading JJJ. Cleveland is certainly not trading Mobley. These kinds of names just make me laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Claxton could be gettable but at the same time Brooklyn has to pay SOMEBODY. They’re current payroll for next season? $53.7 mil. They have to come WAY up to meet the salary cap floor and half of what they have is in Claxton. They also don’t have a ton of centers and he gets cheaper. Almost better to see if one could entice D-Sharpe to come here for the Bi-Annual.
If they could get Claxton, which is feasible given that he’s on Brooklyn and that’s one of like 4 teams that will deal fairly with Rob, I wonder if a package of Kleber, Vincent and Knecht gets it done. Toss in a top 5 protected FRP and call it a day.
I don’t like Claxton for the Lakers. First he is not worth the money and 2nd I’m not fond of 215 pound centers. He weights less then Jackson. Skinny guys can be moved. Both Lebron and Rui were able to move Holgram out of the way because he is skinny. That was the main reason for signing Hartenstein. That was one of the reasons we played well against OKC.