Lakers Reportedly Out on Two Potential Center Trade Targets

Los Angeles Lakers superstar center Anthony Davis was surprisingly vocal last week when he said the front office needs to add another big alongside him before the NBA trade deadline.
While front offices usually listen to their superstar players, the Lakers are hesitant to give Davis what he wants.
Also, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers aren't interested in trading for either one of the two top centers on the market: Bulls center Nikola Vucevic and Raptors center Jakob Poeltl.
Stein shared in his most recent column.
“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 with less than 10 days to go before the trade deadline on Feb. 6 at 3 PM ET.”
The Lakers' biggest need isn't the five position, but Davis believes it is.
He isn't usually vocal about what he wants on the roster, but that was not the case when he did a sit-down interview with ESPN's Shams Charania.
Here is what Davis had to say about what he wants the Lakers to target as the NBA trade deadline approaches.
"I think we need another big," Davis told Charania. "I feel like I've always been at my best when I've been the 4, having a big out there."
"We know it worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I'm at the 4," he told Charania.
"We feel like we are right there, you know, as far as the team and everything like that," Davis told Charania. "[James] and I are like very, very motivated to win another championship."
Although the Lakers don't have a reliable center to back up Davis and haven't had one since the 2020-21 season, he is still putting up monster numbers.
On the season, Davis is averaging 25.9 points per game, 11.9 rebounds, .35 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 1.3 steals while shooting 52.4 percent from the field in 34.8 minutes of action.
While Vucevic would have been a solid addition to their offense, his defense is average at best. As for Poeltl, he is a monster on the glass who could have been solid at the center position in a limited role for L.A.
L.A. can choose from plenty of other options if they decide to go after another center.
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