The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a fascinating offseason, having just signed Luka Doncic to a three-year extension while trying to maximize the championship window in what's close to the end of LeBron James' career.
Rob Pelinka's roster-building strategies have justifiably been heavily criticized during his tenure, as he's taken numerous miscalculated swings on unproductive players that have left the Lakers out of true contention ever since the championship during the bubble.
One player that he took a gamble back in February remains unsigned with the season fast approaching now that we're in August.
Lakers are signing former Kings 7-foot center Alex Len, per @ShamsCharania
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 11, 2025
Lakers get their big man 🤝 pic.twitter.com/KE9dmYyUhv
Former Lakers C Alex Len Remains Without a Job During August
Once a fifth-overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, center Alex Len is still a free agent. He joined the Lakers during the stretch run of the 2024-25 season, appearing in 10 games to average a paltry 2.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 2.1 fouls per contest while shooting 45% from the field.
Now that Los Angeles has DeAndre Ayton and Maxi Kleber in the fold, it's virtually impossible to imagine them bringing Len back. At 32 years old, there's no remaining upside, and he'll go down as one of the more disastrous draft busts in the last 15 years with only one season averaging double-digit points and zero averaging at least eight rebounds a game.
It made sense at the time for the Lakers to take a swing given their terrible big-man rotation. Even still, it was a desperate grasp and representative of Pelinka's obvious failures. Los Angeles should be a contender, though they rank outside of the top five in the Western Conference by most predictive metrics. Having Doncic and James should automatically make you a contender, though a poor approach to personnel moves have doomed the franchise.
Len's signing wasn't some sort of terrible decision by any means. That said, that he's still unemployed illustrates the fact that the Lakers haven't done enough due diligence in recent years. Perhaps Ayton can be the center who turns things around down low but for now, there's little reason to believe in Pelinka's leadership.
Los Angeles is in an intriguing spot, both too good to not gun for a championship but not good enough to realistically win it. They need big steps forward from the ancillary pieces on the roster, yet it appears that Len's time in the NBA may now officially be over.