With the NBA Finals wrapping up on Sunday, it is officially the offseason. The NBA Draft is scheduled for Wednesday, and free agency opens next week. The trade market, however, is already in full swing. After the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade over the weekend, the Boston Celtics moved on from Jrue Holiday on Monday night. With the Celtics officially open for business, this represents an opportunity for the Los Angeles Lakers.
In fact, according to ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel, the Lakers are already having conversations with the Celtics about star center Kristaps Porzingis. Per Siegel, the Lakers are among a handful of teams, including the Warriors and the Pelicans, that have gauged Boston's interest in trading the Latvian big man.
Lakers Rumored to Be a Kristaps Porzingis Suitor
This is an expected development. The Lakers desperately need a starting center who can protect the rim on one end while giving them more offensive juice on the other. At his best, Porzingis is better than any center the Lakers can realistically acquire this summer.
The issue is that he is rarely at his best. The 29-year-old missed a total of 65 regular-season games for Boston in the last two seasons and wasn't healthy in either postseason run.
For the right price, however, Porzingis is still worth a gamble. He is entering the final year of his contract and is set to make $30.7 million for next season. If the Lakers can acquire him without giving up an unprotected first-round pick and extend him for a multi-year, team-friendly contract, he would be a solid upside play.
Los Angeles will likely need to part ways with Rui Hachimura and one of Maxi Kleber, Gabe Vincent, or Jarred Vanderbilt to match salaries in a potential trade. This deal would reunite Luka Doncic and Porzingis, who spent a few years together in Dallas but came up short of their ultimate goal of competing for a championship. While carrying significant risk, Porzingis could be an excellent pick-and-pop partner for Doncic and would elevate this Lakers team to another level if he can manage to stay healthy.