With center an area the Lakers are still reportedly targeting in the trade market, who should the Lakers have their eyes on?
The Lakers kicked off trade season in December by acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets, but they might not be done there. They’re still looking for extra frontcourt help either alongside or behind Anthony Davis, as most recently reported by Dan Woike of the LA Times.
One option came off the board Wednesday as the Phoenix Suns traded Josh Okogie and three second-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets for Nick Richards and a 2025 Denver Nuggets second-rounder. Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported in October that the Lakers were interested in Richards, although they clearly weren’t the only title hopeful who did.
With Richards now off the market, where could the Lakers turn for frontcourt help? Let’s run through a few possible options.
Something to keep in mind before we begin: Because the Lakers are over the first apron, they aren’t allowed to take back more salary via a standard trade exception than they send out.
However, they are allowed to aggregate two smaller contracts for someone with a bigger salary since they’re below the second apron. They’d have to do so for a few potential targets.
Nikola Vučević
If it wasn’t already obvious, the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday underscored how rudderless they’ve become in recent years. The Bulls owe their 2025 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs if it falls outside the top 10, so they should be doing everything in their power to ensure that pick doesn’t convey.
Zach LaVine is having a bounce-back season after an injury-ravaged 2023-24 campaign, but it still may be a challenge for the Bulls to trade him, given the size of his contract. To wit: The Lakers would have to aggregate at least four players to reach LaVine’s $43.0 million cap hit for this season. However, longtime NBA insider Marc Stein reported in early January that the Bulls are expected to flip Nikola Vučević by the trade deadline.
Much like LaVine, Vučević is having a strong season. He’s shooting a career-high 55.6% from the field and 42.2% from deep while averaging 20.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Vooch has never been a strong defender, but his long-range shooting ability would pair nicely either alongside AD or behind him in a reserve center role.
Vučević is earning $20 million flat this season and is under contract for $21.5 million next year. The Lakers could clear that number by aggregating Gabe Vincent ($11.0 million) and Jarred Vanderbilt ($10.7 million), so draft compensation figures to be the big sticking point. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, several NBA executives believe the Bulls might want a first-round pick for him.
The Lakers do have their 2029 or 2031 first-rounders to offer in trades, along with pick swaps in 2026, 2028 and 2030. Their interest in Vučević (or lack thereof) might come down to how Chicago’s asking price compares to some of their other options.
Jonas Valančiūnas
If the Lakers aren’t keen on flipping one of their two distant first-rounders, they could instead pivot toward less expensive targets. Washington Wizards center Jonas Valančiūnas might fit that bill.
In late December, Stein reported that Valančiūnas was among the veterans “believed to be available for second-round draft compensation.” Scotto reported Thursday that he’s “expected to command multiple second-round picks,” although a league source told Josh Robbins and Davld Aldridge of The Athletic that two second-rounders may “wind up being the maximum Washington can get for him.”
Valančiūnas is playing a career-low 19.7 minutes per game this season with the Wizards, but he’s averaging 11.6 points on 56.0% shooting and 8.1 rebounds in that limited time. However, he’s far less of a three-point threat than Vučević. He’s attempting only 0.6 three-pointers per game while shooting a career-worst 21.7% from deep.
Valančiūnas is earning only $9.9 million this season and $10.4 million next year, while his $10.0 million salary in 2026-27 is fully non-guaranteed. He wouldn’t compromise the Lakers’ potential post-LeBron financial flexibility in 2026, which should make him that much more appealing.
The Lakers can only trade two second-round picks: their own in 2025 and a 2025 pick from the L.A. Clippers. Would Vincent and those two second-rounders be enough for Washington? If not, the Lakers may have to turn their attention elsewhere.
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Robert Williams III
Valančiūnas isn’t the only big man who might be available for strictly second-round picks. Scotto reported that Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III is likewise expected to command multiple second-rounders.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line wrote in mid-December that Williams was “on the Lakers’ wishlist of bigs.” He’s nowhere near the offensive threat that either Vučević or Valančiūnas is — he’s averaging only 6.6 points in 16.5 minutes per game this season — but he’s a far better defender than both of them. He finished seventh in the Defensive Player of the Year race in 2021-22 and earned an All-Defense team nod that year.
Injuries are the biggest concern with Williams. He played only six games last season because of a knee injury and has appeared in only 12 games this year because of ankle and hamstring injuries along with a concussion and an illness. The Lakers might prefer to target someone they can rely on more to stay in the lineup.
Williams is earning only $12.4 million this season and $13.3 million next year, so the Lakers could easily match his salary. They could aggregate any of their minimum contracts — bye, Jaxson Hayes — with Vanderbilt or Vincent and clear the amount of salary they’d need to send out for Williams.
While Williams’ defensive ability should make him appealing to the Lakers, they’d likely be better off targeting Valančiūnas if their prices are comparable. It would be unwise to ignore Williams’ injury history and the likelihood that he wouldn’t make it through a deep playoff run healthy.
Clint Capela
Unlike Vučević, Valančiūnas and Williams, Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela is on an expiring contract. That could make him more attractive to suitors looking for long-term cap relief, but it may be more of a negative than a positive for the Lakers.
Unless LeBron retires or unexpectedly turns down his player option and leaves in free agency, the Lakers aren’t projected to have cap space this coming offseason. The 2026 offseason seems like their natural pivot point, which none of Vučević, Valančiūnas and Williams would compromise.
However, Capela being on an expiring deal gives the Hawks more urgency to move him by the Feb. 6 deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing this summer in free agency.
Capela has started all 40 games in which he’s appeared this season, but he’s averaging only 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game, all of which are his lowest marks since the 2016-17 campaign. He’s shooting 57.2 percent from the field, but that’s largely because nearly all of his shot attempts come within 10 feet of the basket. He has yet to attempt a single three-pointer this season.
It wouldn’t be easy for the Lakers to match Capela’s $22.3 million salary, either. Vincent ($11.0 million) and Vanderbilt ($10.7 million) add up to only $21.7 million, so they’d have to include a third player as well. That would likely require looping in a third team, as Atlanta already has 15 players on standard contracts.
For those reasons, Capela figures to be a less likely trade target than Vučević, Valančiūnas and Williams. Still, the Lakers have been linked to Capela in the past, so he can’t be ruled out entirely.
Kelly Olynyk
Utah Jazz third-year center Walker Kessler tends to come up as a possible Lakers trade target, but keep in mind who the team’s CEO is. Danny Ainge is the king of the almost-trade.
Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri wasn’t far behind Ainge in that regard in recent years, but he finally pivoted into a long-overdue rebuild last season. He’d likely drive a hard bargain for Jakob Poeltl, whom the Raptors spent a first-round pick to acquire ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. The same might not be true for Kelly Olynyk, though.
Stein reported in December that Olynyk was among the veterans believed to be available for second-round compensation. The 33-year-old is averaging a career-low 6.1 points in 14.7 minutes per game on a going-nowhere Raptors team, but he’s knocking down a career-best 44.4% of his three-point attempts (albeit on a small sample size of 27 shots in total).
Olynyk is earning $12.8 million this season and $13.4 million next year, so the Raptors could wait until the offseason or next year’s trade deadline before moving him. Then again, they risk getting diminishing returns the longer they wait. Since he clearly doesn’t fit into their long-term plans, they might be better off moving him ahead of the deadline to maximize what they get back.
The Lakers could clear Olynyk’s cap hit by aggregating either Vincent or Vanderbilt with any of their minimum contracts other than Bronny James. If they’re looking for more shooting in their frontcourt and strike out on Vučević, Olynyk could be a cheaper alternative.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Salary Swish and salary-cap information via RealGM.