The Los Angeles Lakers have righted the ship in recent weeks and improved to 25-18 for the season after back-to-back wins over the Celtics and the Warriors. With the return of Jarred Vanderbilt, the Lakers finally have enough depth and defensive versatility to potentially be a dangerous playoff team.
At the same time, they are still far from being able to contend for an NBA championship. The Oklahoma City Thunder have been extremely dominant all season and the Denver Nuggets continue to have the Lakers' number. In order to match up with them in the Western Conference, the Lakers need to add to their roster ahead of the February 6 trade deadline.
Recently, Anthony Davis made a plea to the Lakers front office, reiterating his desire to play the power forward. The Lakers don't have enough quality in their center rotation to make that happen, creating a need to trade for a big man.
Who that big man will be remains to be seen but Marc Stein of The Stein Line already ruled out two players currently on the trade block. In his latest trade piece, the NBA insider reported that Nikola Vucevis and Jakob Poeltl are not expected to be options for the Lakers.
"League sources stressed over the weekend that the Lakers are not expected to join the hunt for either Vučević or Toronto's Jakob Poeltl ... while oft-suggested Lakers target Walter Kessler of the Utah Jazz is believed to as close to unavailable as it gets..."NBA insider Marc Stein
Stein added that the Lakers' presumed top target Walker Kessler is likely unavailable as well. This makes things rather challenging for the Lakers. Players like Jonas Valanciunas, Robert Williams III, and Nic Claxton could still be available but they all come with different concerns.
Valanciunas is a massive defensive liability. Williams is a big injury concern who struggles to stay healthy for an extended period of time. Claxton is overpaid on the first season of his four-year, $97 million contract. These three players would be easier to acquire than someone like Kessler, but how much of a panacea they would be for the Lakers' defensive struggles is a big question mark.