Lakers News: Insider Reveals Top LA Free Agent Center Target Eyeing East Contender

Uh oh.

Your Los Angeles Lakers are still very much on the prowl for a veteran to fill the 14th spot on their 15-man standard roster. Team GM/president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka has indicated the club is hoping to use the slot to sign a big man. 

The top remaining free agent on the market at this stage in the game is Christian Wood, a talented and versatile scorer in his absolute prime at 27. So why is he potentially available for the veteran's minimum this offseason? 

Wood seems to be something of a locker room cancer, having played for seven teams across his seven seasons, most of whom have missed the playoffs even while he has posted big stats. Most recently, with a lottery-bound Dallas Mavericks team in 2022-23, the 6'10" center/power forward out of UNLV averaged 16.6 points on .515/.376/.772 shooting splits, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists across 67 contests (50 off the bench).

During a new interview with Trevor Lane, Jovan Buha of The Athletic has indicated that the reigning Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, who still lack proven frontcourt depth, hold special appeal for Wood.

“Christian Wood, from my understanding, is interested in a potential role in Miami—depending on what players are involved in that [Portland Trail Blazers All-Star point guard Damian Lillard] trade," Buha said. "If they add [starting Trail Blazers center Jusuf] Nurkic I think that frontcourt is set. If they don't and get rid of [second-year power forward Nikola] Jovic, can Wood come in and outplay [starting power forward Kevin] Love and [ex-Laker Thomas] Bryant?”

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