It’s one of the NBA’s worst-kept secrets that the Lakers are seeking a big man ahead of the February 6 deadline, with names such as Jazz’s Walker Kessler, Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas, the Blazers’ Robert Williams III and the Raptors’ Jakob Poeltl being listed as potential targets.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, Kessler is “essentially unavailable” in talks due to the Jazz’s steep asking price. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers may be inclined to stop their pursuit of Kessler due to the circumstances.
“Oft-suggested Lakers target Walter Kessler of the Utah Jazz is believed to as close to unavailable as it gets with less than 10 days to go before the trade deadline on Feb. 6 at 3 PM ET,” Stein wrote in his January 27 newsletter.
Stein’s report added that the Lakers “are not expected to join the hunt” for Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic or Raptors’ Poeltl either due to the asking price.
Anthony Davis Pressures Lakers Front Office
The talk of the Lakers aggressively hunting a big man in trades picked up steam after Anthony Davis implored the front office to find him a frontcourt partner.
In a January 23 interview with ESPN’s Shams Charania , Davis said he preferred to move back to his natural position of power forward.
“I think we need another big,” Davis told Charania. “I feel like I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been the 4, having a big out there.”
Davis added that the Lakers’ 2019-20 squad had “the perfect roster construction” with a squad of players who complimented one another, especially defensively. As part of that squad, Davis played the four spot next to Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee.
“We know it [two big lineups] worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I’m at the 4. We feel like we are right there, you know, as far as the team and everything like that. [LeBron James] and I are like very, very motivated to win another championship.”
Will Lakers Trade For Another Big?
Davis isn’t alone in feeling like the Lakers would be better off playing larger lineups. Even head coach JJ Redick has hinted at his team reverting to playing another big with Davis at the four spot. That would explain why Redick gave Jaxson Hayes nearly 15.3 minutes per game in January after barely playing the athletic big in December.
“We kind of went away from those two big lineups,” Redick said on January 16, via Silver Screen and Roll. “It’s something we did last night. It’s something we’re going to try to get back to for small stretches of games. It doesn’t mean we won’t play small ever, but that’s something I think where, when we can get some practice time, we can really work on those small ball looks.”
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