On Moday, June 30, teams across the NBA can officially start talking to free agents, and the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to significantly improve a roster that is very strong towards the top but lacks reinforcements and complementary players.
Their biggest need is help at the center position, where they were forced to get by with Jaxson Hayes starting and various forwards masquerading as centers this season.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report predicted in an article on Saturday that the Lakers will end up with Clint Capela, an Atlanta Hawks center who is about to become a free agent. It led insider Anthony Irwin to post on X (formerly Twitter) that other teams know the Lakers are “desperate” to improve at the 5 and have been trying to take advantage, such as in the ill-fated Mark Williams trade in February.
Los Angeles agreed to trade sharpshooter Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, a 2031 first-round draft pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for Williams, who averaged 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a game this season. But the oft-injured Williams failed his physical, and the trade was rescinded.
Capela, 32, could be part of the solution for L.A. He put up 8.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 21.4 minutes a game this season, and while his game has slipped a bit in recent years, he could still give the team some rebounding, rim protection and a lob threat.
L.A. is expected to have the taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.7 million to spend on one or more serviceable free agents.