Lakers Rumors: LA Looking To Shore Up Depth By Trading For An Old Friend

Los Angeles can likely do much better than this.

Your Los Angeles Lakers' 2023-24 season has been full of multiple ups and downs, leading to frustration all over the organization. Many expected this group to be better than it has been, and folks are accordingly expecting LA to be very active at the trade deadline.

The club has multiple routes that it can go down, but addressing some key holes in the roster will be key. One of these is at the center spot, as the Lakers haven't received too many quality minutes from any of the big men on the team, other than Anthony Davis.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers have been looking to address the issue at the center position, potentially with an old friend. 

"The Lakers have also considered dealing for players who could address specific needs in a potential playoff matchup, such as Andre Drummond of the Bulls, in anticipation of a postseason rematch with the Denver Nuggets and their big front line of Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon, sources said," McMenamin writes.

Drummond spent the last part of the 2021 season with the Lakers, so he is familiar with the team. If they did trade for him, it would be under a new coach, but he has played around LeBron James and Davis before at least.

He has played in 45 games for the Chicago Bulls this season, putting up 7.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Drummond isn't the same player he once was, but could be a decent option for big-man depth.

The biggest issue for him is his lack of defensive approach. Drummond is awful on defense, and it could end up hurting the Lakers more than helping them. 

If the Lakers have nowhere else to go, Drummond isn't a bad option, but they should steer clear. They tried the experiment with him years ago, and shouldn't try to re-hash this again.