When Anthony Davis arrived in Los Angeles back in 2019, he made his preference for the power forward position clear. “I like playing the 4. I’m not even going to sugarcoat it. I like playing the 4,” Davis said at his introductory Lakers press conference. “I don’t really like playing the 5.” This has essentially become the Lakers’ version of Groundhog Day. Every offseason, it comes out that Davis wants to play power forward. Every offseason, there is some plan in place to minimize his wear and tear. And when every season arrives, the Lakers find that they have little choice but to use Davis at center.
Well, it’s September, and sure enough, the cycle is beginning anew. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Davis has made it clear to the Lakers that his preference is to play alongside another big man more often this season than he did last. According to Cleaning the Glass, Davis played 921 possessions alongside either Christian Wood or Jaxson Hayes last season compared to 4,741 possessions without either, equating to around 84% of his possessions as the only Laker big man on the floor.
The Lakers haven’t added any significant big men this offseason. In fact, they technically haven’t added a single veteran. The only changes to their roster as of this writing are the additions of rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James to replace outgoing free agents Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie. However, McMenamin reports that Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas could be a trade target when he becomes eligible to be moved on Dec. 15.
The Lakers pursuing a Valanciunas trade would be ironic in light of how their offseason played out. LeBron James was reportedly willing to leave money on the table for the Lakers to pursue a mid-level free agent. Valanciunas was reportedly one such target. However, the Lakers ultimately went all-in to try to land Klay Thompson in a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors. Thompson ultimately signed with the Dallas Mavericks but took so long in his deliberations that Valanciunas was off of the market by the time the Lakers could turn their attention elsewhere. The Lakers would, in essence, be giving up assets for a player that they could have signed for free.
Wood just underwent knee surgery, so at the moment, Davis and Hayes are the only big men on the roster aside from two-way big man Colin Castleton. That means Davis will have to play mostly center to begin next season, and the onus will be on him and the rest of the team to prove to the front office that they are worth devoting the assets needed to make a major trade.
