The Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA’s hottest team right now, winning nine of their last 10 games to climb to fourth in the Western Conference. Most recently, they bludgeoned the Utah Jazz in Luka Doncic’s debut. Doncic scored 14 points in 24 minutes in his first on-court action since December after missing time with a calf strain, but the vibes seem pretty impeccable in L.A. right now — standing in stark contrast to [gestures at the Mavericks].
The one thing that feels unsustainable about the Lakers as it pertains to them being actual contenders in the West is their center rotation after trading Anthony Davis. Jaxson Hayes has been solid since being elevated to the starting role and figures to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Doncic’s arrival, but beyond him the Lakers just have a pair of two-way players (Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison) and then small-ball options. That’s not ideal in the West where there are some stars at center (most notably Nikola Jokic), and the Lakers were well aware they needed reinforcements.
They tried to meet Doncic’s request of trading for a young, talented center, sending their best remaining assets to Charlotte for Mark Williams, but the team’s medical staff failed Williams’ physical and the trade fell through. That happened after the deadline passed, leaving L.A. with limited options to add players. While they could take down the Jazz without another center, they didn’t want to let that need linger for too long, and on Tuesday the team agreed to a deal with Alex Len on the buyout market and waived the injured Christian Wood to create a roster spot, per Shams Charania. Len was initially rumored to be heading to Indiana, but with the Lakers in desperate need for help, he opted for what should be a decent role in L.A.
Len played sparingly for the Kings, averaging just 7.2 minutes per game in 36 appearances, and doesn’t figure to come in and change the Lakers’ fortunes dramatically. That said, he’s a veteran that they can trust to set some screens, finish at the rim when asked, grab some rebounds, and provide some more size and rim protection defensively. Len’s addition is the type of stop-gap move most expected the Lakers to make prior to the stunning Williams trade. I wouldn’t expect Len to suddenly be playing 25 minutes a night for the Lakers, but he can eat 15 minutes backing up Hayes when JJ Redick isn’t comfortable going small.