Sports
Lakers Minimum Contracts to Pursue as Late NBA Free Agency Steals – Bleacher Report
The Los Angeles Lakers have already positioned themselves to rank among the winners of the 2023 NBA offseason.
That doesn’t mean their work is finished.
Their roster could use another big man, particularly if head coach Darvin Ham plans on rolling out any of the two-big lineups they deployed often during their 2019-20 championship run.
Fortunately, their free-agent pool of available centers hasn’t totally dried up. The following three unsigned centers could all be strong fits on a minimum contract.
Earlier this offseason, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reported that the Lakers have Bismack Biyombo on their radar.
He could be a strong fit, so long as L.A. is willing to live with his offensive limitations.
His scoring range may not reach beyond the restricted area—he’s a 55.6 percent career free-throw shooter—but he can still add value with his size (6’8″, 255 lbs), motor and interior activity. He sets solid screens, protects the paint, fights for rebounds and finishes a decent amount of his point-blank scoring chances.
This past season, he logged 874 minutes across 61 contests for the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns. They also fared a full point better per 100 possessions with him than without, per NBA.com.
Gorgui Dieng is deep enough into the twilight of his career that he’d be more of a last resort than a priority.
Still, as far as long shots go, the Lakers could do worse—provided Dieng’s struggles this past season weren’t a sign of the 33-year-old being washed.
His 2022-23 campaign was admittedly rough, but the outlines of a productive reserve big were evident just one season prior. In fact, between 2020-21 and 2021-22, he averaged 16.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per 36 minutes while posting an efficient 50.2/42.8/82.8 shooting slash.
Counting on him for regular minutes might be a stretch, but he could be useful as a reserve center capable of soaking up spot minutes when needed.
This is the name that will catch the attention of most Lakers’ fans, and it might be atop the front office’s wish list, too.
Christian Wood has by far the best numbers of the bunch (16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in only 25.9 minutes last season), and he might be the most naturally gifted, too. There simply aren’t many players who are this skilled and this athletic at this size (6’10”).
Of course, that begs the question of why he’s still unsigned—or why he’s played for seven different teams in seven seasons—and it’s one L.A. is trying to figure out. The Lakers have “done significant background work on Wood,” per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.
The Dallas Mavericks, Wood’s most recent employer, moved on before free agency even opened. That could be telling.
Then again, maybe this process will humble the skilled big man and have him buy into a support role in which he embraces the little things that contribute to winning. If the Lakers can afford him—Woike reported the Chicago Bulls are threats to sign Wood—this feels like a gamble worth taking.
