LA Lakers optimistic about 7-foot center's health and availability for 2024-25 NBA season: Report

The Los Angeles Lakers signed former Toronto Raptors big man Christian Koloko to a two-way contract on Monday. The center missed the majority of the last season because of a blood clot condition. However, LA has shown optimism about his return to the court in the upcoming season.

With Koloko's addition, the Lakers will have more support in the frontcourt, lifting the burden off their star center Anthony Davis. Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that the Purple and Gold waived forward Blake Hinson to free up their third two-way spot and acquire Koloko.

The 7-footer and 33rd overall from the 2022 NBA draft has to be cleared by the NBA's fitness-to-play panel before he can step foot on hardwood wearing an LA jersey. The panel consists of three medical officials, one appointed by the league, the second by the players union and the third is an official mutually agreed upon by the league and the union.

However, per McMenamin, sources have told ESPN that the team has conducted a separate assessment of the former Raptor on its own, and the results have given the franchise a reason to be optimistic about his return.

Last season, Koloko averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks with an average game time of 13.8 minutes. As a collegiate player for the Arizona Wildcats, Koloko had better stats. He averaged 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while being named to the All-Pac-12 first team and honored as 2022's Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Possible reason behind Los Angeles Lakers' acquisition of Christian Koloko

Last season, the biggest problem the Los Angeles Lakers faced was their ability to collect the ball bouncing off the rim and make successful defensive plays. The Purple and Gold only have a few players who can be considered to be All-NBA defensive team-level.

LA has only Anthony Davis as its premier center, tasked with collecting rebounds and being at the heart of defensive plays. However, Davis has had an injury problem in the past few seasons, playing the entire 2023-24 season troubled with a hip injury. He couldn't rest as his team did not have anyone better or equal to him in the role.

Adding Christian Koloko reduces that burden from the shoulders of Davis and gives the team much-needed roster depth to work with. Especially when facing players like Nikola Jokic and Kristaps Porzingis, the Lakers need another big other AD who can go up against those behemoths and shut them down.