The Lakers should target these centers with the 17th pick

The Boston Celtics’ win in the NBA Finals on Monday, June 17th, signaled the official beginning of the best offseason in sports.

Now is the time for the contenders to make incremental changes to their rosters while the league’s bottom dwellers hope for big swings to bring them into basketball relevance.

No team will have more fire to improve heading into this offseason than the Los Angeles Lakers, as this last Celtics title officially put Boston one championship above the Purple and Gold. 

The last few seasons have revealed some of the weak points of the Lakers squad, specifically in their big man room.

2020’s championship team was the last great blueprint we have to reference for what a big-man group should look like around Anthony Davis. Two big bodies that can rebound and defend allow Anthony Davis to roam on defense at the four and alleviate the toll on his body offensively that he accrues solely playing the 5.

In a report by Ian Begley, he briefly detailed the plans the Lakers have for their offseason and that the team has been “closely monitoring their offseason options at the center position.” 

This is a great relief to those who fondly remember the 2020 big-man room and signals that the Lakers may return to that winning formula.

While there are some solid centers available in free agency, such as Jonas Valanciunas, Nic Claxton, and Isaiah Hartenstein, that the Lakers would be thrilled to pick up, let’s take a look at some of the best young bigs coming into the draft and see just who is the best fit next to Anthony Davis. 

Kel’el Ware

In my opinion, Kel’el Ware out of Indiana has the most upside of any big we’ll cover in this article. Ware is an imposing figure, standing seven feet tall and weighing 242 pounds.

In his sophomore season with the Hoosiers, Ware averaged 16 points, ten rebounds, and two blocks and shot 58.6% from the field and 42.5% on threes.

Watching his film, I saw that three-ball could be a legitimate weapon for him at the next level as he showed off a much-improved stroke from the previous year at Oregon. 

Kel’el Ware is an athletic freak who should cause fits for opposing big men, especially paired with AD. At the combine, he recorded a 32.5 in vertical (3rd among centers), a 10.97-second lane agility time (2nd among centers), and a 2.91-second shuttle time (also 2nd among centers).

Ware flashed his athleticism constantly throughout the season with fantastic floor running and dunks galore, from putbacks to catching lobs.

The man exemplifies showtime in his play style but also exhibits some impressive touch around the rim as well as in his mid-range game.

If he can develop into the best version of himself, the league will have their hands full. 

NBA Comparisons: 

Ceiling: Myles Turner

Floor: Christian Wood (Currently)

Zach Edey

Zach Edey is as big as they come for a big man, standing a daunting 7 ‘4 300lbs.

This past season, Edey won his second consecutive Wooden Award while at Purdue, recognizing him as the best college basketball player in the nation and becoming the first player in over 50 years to win the award unanimously in back-to-back seasons. 

Edey averaged 25 points, 12 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and shot a fantastic 62% from the field this past season for the Boilermakers. While Edey will undoubtedly see some success in the league, I don’t foresee that happening quickly, and I certainly don’t foresee that happening with the Lakers.

Edey is coming from a system at Purdue where he was the main featured player in almost all of their offensive schemes, which is a significant reason why he was able to score as many points as he did.

On a team with LeBron, Anthony Davis, and even Austin Reaves, could Edey show the same effectiveness while being nowhere near the number-one option on offense?

Those points didn’t come in the flashiest of ways either, with many coming simply from his positioning and size.

At 7′ 4, Edey could get on the low block to either get fed a pass or rebound a missed shot, leading to easy buckets.

With the size, yes, he’ll still be taller than most bigs, but will he be strong and athletic enough to get that positioning down low? I, for one, don’t see it, but at the end of the day, he did average a 25-point double-double, and that can not be scoffed at. 

NBA Comparisons: 

Ceiling: Taller Ivica Zubac

Floor: Luka Garza 

DaRon Holmes

The 6 ’10, 235lb Holmes is one of the most intriguing draft prospects at the big position of this whole draft, in my opinion.

Coming out of Dayton, Holmes was able to establish himself as a dominant force on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. 

Measuring 6 ’10 will certainly have pros and cons at the next level. One of his best qualities in college was his ability to not only defend at a high level, but his ‘smaller than most centers’ frame made him excellent at switching on pick & rolls.

Whether he has the size and quickness to continue this effectively at the next level has yet to be seen.

Regardless of switching, Holmes will be able to instantly bring rim protection to the team as he boasted 2.1 blocks per game for the Flyers, and a presence like that next to AD would be demanding for opposing coaches to plan around. 

One of the main reasons I think Holmes would be a solid fit with the Lakers next to AD is his shooting ability. He shot a very solid 54% from the field and almost 39% from the three-point line, many of those threes coming off of well-set pick-and-pops.

Having two bigs in AD and Holmes who can both pop off screens and knock down jumpers would just add another layer to what the Lakers will be able to do offensively. 

NBA Comparisons: 

Ceiling: Naz Reid

Floor: Jalen Smith (Currently) 

All three of these talented bigs are great players and should have solid careers in the league, but if I’m Jesse Buss and the Lakers, I take Ware or Holmes.

Edey could have some massive upside in the right system, but his lack of shooting ability makes it difficult to envision him significantly impacting a team like the Lakers. 

Ware is my pick as he provides more size than Holmes while still being able to shoot at a high clip, but there are certainly more options.

There has been talk of Ron Holland dropping to the Lakers at 17, and if he is available, you must take him if you’re the Lakers. Having another Cam Whitmore situation two years in a row would sting. 

While Ware would be the best fit, there are so many things this team can do with the 17th pick. They could trade the pick, either to trade up in the draft or package it with other picks to trade for a solid big like Nick Richards or Wendell Carter Jr.

Regardless of what happens on draft night, we can rest easy knowing that the focus once again has been placed on providing AD some support. We all remember what happened last time we had reinforcements in the big-man group.