Ranking the Top 5 Centers LA Lakers Could Realistically Get This Summer

Despite entering their first-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves as heavy favorites, the third-seeded, 50-win Los Angeles Lakers headed home early after being eliminated on Wednesday.

And while there's plenty of blame to go around, the biggest reason for the disappointment presented itself throughout the series.

After rescinding a trade that would've landed them Mark Williams back in February, the Lakers didn't have a starting-caliber center in the playoffs. And they brought that roster to a matchup with a huge Timberwolves team that features Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid. In the closeout game, Gobert had 27 points and 24 rebounds, while L.A. never abandoned its small-ball lineup.

The alternatives were Jaxson Hayes, Alex Len and maybe the undersized Jarred Vanderbilt, so it's hard to saddle new coach JJ Redick with this issue.

It's a front office problem, and it's one the Lakers can fix this offseason. Because the Dallas Mavericks got nowhere near what Luka Dončić was worth in that trade, L.A. still has some assets to spend on a big man.

The Lakers can aggregate plenty of salary with Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Dorian Finney-Smith ($15.4 million), Jarred Vanderbilt ($11.6 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million). If they want to get real aggressive, they could include Austin Reaves ($13.9 million) in an offer. They also have an interesting young shooter in Dalton Knecht ($4 million).

Additionally, Los Angeles can offer first-round picks and/or pick swaps in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2031. And the 2032 pick unlocks on draft night.

Some combination of the above could easily land a starting 5. Below, we'll look at the best (though still realistic) options.

Our first option is a little outside the box, largely because John Collins is 6'9" and has spent a big chunk of his career as a power forward. And L.A. just paid the price for playing 3s and 4s at the 5.

But Collin is more of a rebounder and rim protector than Rui, DFS and LeBron James. And he has some ball skills that would allow the Lakers to still play "small" on offense.

He can attack the occasional closeout off the dribble. In his two seasons with the Utah Jazz, he's hit 38.2 percent of his three-point attempts.

And, as is true with each of the centers we'll discuss below, Collins' basketball life would be made significantly easier by playing alongside Luka. The amount of open looks he creates for bigs around the rim is almost incomparable (Trae Young and Tyrese Haliburton might have something to say about that). And Collins is a high-flyer who'd make the lob passes easier to throw.

It would take more of the aforementioned salary to get Deandre Ayton, but it'd likely cost fewer draft picks than some of the names that follow.

At this point, the No. 1 pick from Luka's draft probably counts as a distressed asset, but it's still too early to give up on him.

The 26-year-old center has averaged a double-double (16.4 points and 10.5 rebounds) for his career. And he's never played with a creator quite like Luka (post-prime Chris Paul wasn't quite at that level).

His volume and efficiency as a scorer could both climb as Luka's lob threat. And while he's not known as a great rim protector, he's an upgrade over Hayes on that end. He's also better than a lot of other seven-footers at surviving on the perimeter after switches.

One of the less heralded names that the Lakers should go after, Jakob Poeltl possesses a unique set of skills that could dramatically improve L.A. without costing it a ton of contracts and/or assets.

He's had an above-average defensive estimated plus-minus (one of the most trusted catch-all metrics in NBA front offices) in each of the last six seasons, with a peak at the 98th percentile in 2020-21.

His size (he's a legitimate seven-footer), instincts as a shot blocker and rebounding are all factors to contribute to that number and would make him a nice fit with the Lakers.

But what really makes him interesting might be his offense. Like just about any other big, he would benefit from playing with a high-end creator like Luka. Unlike plenty of others, he can also return the favor a bit by passing himself and generating extra possessions.

For his career, Poeltl has a 12.9 offensive rebounding percentage and an 11.8 assist percentage. Joakim Noah and Kevon Looney are the only players in league history who match or exceed both of those marks.

Some of Nicolas Claxton's advanced numbers have tumbled over the last couple years for bad Brooklyn Nets teams, but when he last played with stars, he looked like a rising star.

In 2022-23, a season in which the Nets got 40 appearances from Kyrie Irving and 39 from Kevin Durant, Claxton started 76 games, averaged 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in under 30 minutes a night and shot a league-best 70.5 percent from the field.

That version of Claxton is just waiting to be reintroduced to the league, and Luka (and LeBron and Reaves) are exactly the kind of playmakers who can do that.

Claxton would get plenty of wide-open looks at the rim playing with those three. He'd be a far better backline defender than Hayes. And he's only 26 years old.

This would be the toughest target to land, but Jaren Jackson Jr. is at No. 1 on this list because he'd also be the best.

Let's start with the concerns.

It'd likely cost a decent amount of draft capital and probably Reaves, but the Memphis Grizzlies are enough of a mess for an offer like that to tempt them.

And if the Lakers were lucky enough to land him, they'd be on the hook for his next contract. Jackson's current deal ends in 2026, and his next one is likely to pay him around double what he's making annually.

If that would mean Luka and JJJ were L.A.'s long-term top two, though, it'd likely be worth it.

Jackson is one of the league's best rim protectors and shot blockers. One of his few weaknesses (rebounding) is a strength of Luka's. And unlike some of the other options above, Jackson isn't just a threat as a roller out of ball screens. He's a pick-and-pop option who can keep the lane clear for Luka's drives, too.

Of course, Memphis would have to play ball for this possibility to become reality, and it may be intent on building around Jackson going forward. But again, if the Grizzlies look at the results of the last couple seasons and choose to start over, L.A. can at least present a competitive offer for JJJ.