Confirmed deal : The crucial trade the Lakers must complete to remain elite in a key category

 

 

As the Los Angeles Lakers search for paths toward improvement, the opportunities to do so are becoming increasingly more difficult to discern. Flaws exist at multiple positions, with none quite as well-documented as the need to find an upgrade at center.

Recent progress has implied that the Lakers have found a way to circumvent those concerns, but an upgrade at the 5-spot remains essential.

 

The Lakers have turned the corner on defense since acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith at the end of December. Since Jan. 1, the Lakers are ninth in the NBA in defensive rating, holding teams to just 111.8 points per 100 possessions.

Finney-Smith has played a direct role in that development, as Los Angeles finally has a wing it can rely on to bring consistency to the defensive end of the floor.

Now looking the part of an elite defensive team, the Lakers have every reason to believe they can make noise in the playoffs. They’re ninth in net rating during that same window and even managed to win a recent game without franchise player Anthony Davis.

 

 

In order for the Lakers to sustain this improvement and become a true contender, however, they’ll need to make the trade they’ve been putting off and find the aforementioned upgrade at center.

 

Davis has made it abundantly clear that he wants the Lakers to add a center who can enable him to spend more time at power forward. Some have aimlessly written that off as Davis overlooking his own strength as a modern 5, but there’s precedent for Davis’ preference.

That begins with the fact that the Lakers won a championship with Davis spending considerable time at power forward and ends with the players who match his defensive archetype having support he doesn’t