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The LA Lakers have been one of the most active teams since the start of free agency. The team has already signed numerous players to bolster its roster, including Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes.
However, it appears that LA is not done yet. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is still looking to add another floor-spacing center to the team's roster.
“Beyond Hayes, Pelinka said L.A. is ‘actively in the market to add another big,’ and hinted that the Lakers would pursue a player with stretch 5 capabilities,” McMenamin wrote.
Pelinka added that he wants to add versatility at the five position as Hayes is more of a traditional center:
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“I think dimensionalizing the skills at that position would be important,” Pelinka said.
“So we don't want to sign someone who replicates the skills that Jaxson Hayes has. So, if we can diversify the big position and have different looks, that would be good.”
As for his expectations for Hayes, Pelinka likened the 23-year-old to former Lakers big man Dwight Howard. Howard played a key role on LA’s 2020 title team as a rim-running, shot-blocking big man during his 16th season in the NBA.
“I think (of) Jaxson much like Dwight Howard in that stretch for us: big body, rim protector, active roller,” Pelinka said.
Hayes averaged 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.4 blocks per game on 55.1% shooting over 47 games for the New Orleans Pelicans this past season.
Also read: Who are the LA Lakers' free agent signings? Taking a closer look
LA Lakers could be frontrunners to sign Christian Wood
As for which floor-spacing big man the LA Lakers could target, recent reports suggest that Dallas Mavericks big man Christian Wood could be an option. According to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, interest in Wood has been limited, which could provide LA with an opportunity to sign him at a discount.
“To be honest, I haven’t heard a thing about him since earlier in the week,” Fischer said. “The last thing I heard was that there was some Lakers minimum interest. I have not heard about the minimum. I’d be surprised. I’m a big Christian Wood fan."
“I think he’s a bit misunderstood. But I also don’t think there is an NBA front office out there that wants to pay more than the minimum right now. I would be surprised, I really would.”
Wood averaged 16.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.1 bpg and 1.6 3pg while shooting 51.5% and 37.6% from deep over 67 games this past season.
Fischer's discussion about Christian Wood's free agency starts at the 23:04 mark below:
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