What's the holdup at center?
The entire league is watching the dumbest standoffs in recent memory.
The Lakers are *still* sitting at 13 guys on their main roster (not counting two-ways and other offseason signees), only employ Jaxson Hayes behind the oft-injured Anthony Davis at center, but do have had offers on the table to Christian Wood, Bismack Biyombo and Dario Saric (who obviously signed with Golden State) for weeks.
So… what now?
From what I’ve been able to glean both from Rob Pelinka’s own comments, various reports, and my own digging, the Lakers prefer Wood. This isn’t exactly a consensus position as some in the organization would like more of a bruising presence, but enough people prefer Wood (the most talented free agent left on the market) to make me think eventually, he’ll be a Laker.
Well, unfortunately, as was the case in previous summers where a big move holds everything up, the league is sitting here, glaring at Portland, Miami, Philly and L.A. waiting for someone to blink so everyone can wrap up their offseasons and enjoy their summer vacations.
What’s different this time around is most teams are basically dotting i’s and crossing t’s at this point so it’s more a general annoyance around the league rather than the outright flopsweat we saw when Kawhi Leonard was taking his time getting the best deal he could for his Uncle Dennis making his decision.
As it pertains to the Lakers specifically, there are a few dominoes to keep an eye on:
If Harden is eventually traded to the Clippers, and Ivica Zubac is a part of that deal, that opens up minutes for Wood/Biyombo to either start or play behind Mason Plumlee
If/when Damian Lillard is mercifully traded to the Miami and if Portland is able to move Jusuf Nurkic, Wood/Biyombo could find a role on either the Heat or Blazers
Depending on what the trade looks like, Miami could also technically have more than the minimum to offer, but that’s like three hypotheticals from now so all I’ll say is Wood’s team is waiting this whole thing out
Chicago is historically and hilariously cheap, so my money would be on them not using their new injury exception on a free agent signing. If they do, Wood/Biyombo might just opt for that payday rather than take the minimum deal both will likely wind up with
Feel like this would’ve happened already so, again, the safest bet here is on Chicago cheaping out
So, we wait. And while we do so, we can acknowledge some of the public negotiations still taking place.
I found it interesting during Las Vegas Summer League that Rob Pelinka said he’d like to go back to more of the two-big front the Lakers utilized when they won their championship in 2020. Sure, yeah, a return to bruiseketball sounds good for like five whole seconds until you realize Hayes is the only other big on the roster and that would force Rui Hachimura to the bench.
So, why would Pelinka mention something that makes so little sense as the roster is currently constructed? Well, probably because this isn’t how the roster is going to be constructed.
Dan Woike of the L.A. Times mentioned that Chicago was all of a sudden a real threat to sign Wood. But, as I mentioned above, feel like we would’ve seen more momentum on that front by now. “If a bigger money deal was really on the table, he’d have taken it already,” one source told me.
My theory, as I explained Wednesday on The Lowdown, is that the Lakers want it known Wood could start if he signs but aren’t willing to go as far as they did with Andre Drummond, where it took promising a starting gig to convince him to sign.
Then, from Wood’s perspective, if he presents Chicago as a threat to sign him, maybe the Lakers will blink and make that promise. Regardless, it behooves him and his team to wait for any of these dominoes to fall so maybe a bigger payday/role opens up for him.
For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t make that promise. And if that’s what stops you from employing Christian Wood, then you don’t employ Christian Wood. If he isn’t willing to even compete for that gig, then he isn’t the kind of guy you want in your locker room anyway.
So, until we get more clarity on the latest and dumbest standoffs in recent NBA history, we’re just going to have to sit here and nervously wait for the Lakers to fill out the depth chart beyond Hayes and Castleton (after he spends 50 games on a two-way contract).
If I had to predict how this plays out, I think the Lakers wind up with Wood. But I also would never have predicted he’d be available at the minimum, so goes to show how quickly things can change this time of year.