What will the Lakers do at center after DeMarcus Cousins’ injury?
They’re apparently progressing with a couple reported candidates – Dwight Howard and Joakim Noah. Marreese Speights and Marcin Gortat are also seemingly in the mix.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Sources: Lakers planning individual workouts to evaluate centers Joakim Noah, Dwight Howard and Mo Speights this week in Los Angeles. Another consideration currently overseas: Marcin Gortat. Lakers want a window into physical condition and mindset of a potential addition.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 20, 2019
Howard was effective as recently as two seasons ago (at least on the court). But he missed nearly all of last season due to injury. If the 33-year-old looks healthy in his workout, he’s probably the choice.
Howard has talked big annually about being a better teammate and filling his role. Expect the Lakers to hear the same message from him. There’s no way he can credibly convince anyone he’s serious this time. In a limited market, Los Angeles might have to just roll the dice.
Noah looked good with the Grizzlies after getting bought out by the Knicks last season. The Lakers could use a defensive-minded low-usage player like him – if he can sustain the production he showed in Memphis. With Noah 34 years old, that’s far from guaranteed. Playing in Los Angeles would also raise questions about his partying, though I think there were unique factors for Noah in his native New York.
Would LeBron James approve of Noah? They have a history, including Noah calling the big-three Heat, “Hollywood as hell.” That’s a very specific insult by someone who could join LeBron on the Lakers.
Speights is more of a gunner than it seems the Lakers need with LeBron and Anthony Davis. At least Speights would space the floor for those two. However, Speights – never a great defender – looked way too slow with the Magic two years ago. The 32-year-old spent last season in China.
Gortat, 35, is the oldest of the over-the-hill centers under consideration. He was pretty limited for the Clippers before they waived him last season.