The Los Angeles Lakers invested heavily in Walker Kessler from both a financial and trade perspective at the start of free agency, but they're already admitting to a mistake with their center rotation after also signing former Golden State Warriors champion Kevon Looney.
The Lakers only have Kessler and Looney as genuine centers on their roster at this stage, leaving a desperate need to find reinforcements given the pair combined to play just 26 games last season.
Lakers already admitting to center issue after signing Kevon Looney
Going in wholly reliant on Kessler with only Looney as his backup would be a potentially season-defining mistake for the Lakers, and one they're already looking to address according to Dan Woike of The Athletic on Tuesday.
"Between Looney’s 21 games and the five Kessler played last season, the Lakers are, according to team and league sources, hunting for reinforcement at the center position. But that search won’t be easy. The center market is largely a mess," Woike wrote.
Sitting back from a Golden State perspective, you can't help but wonder why Los Angeles were so eager to sign Looney and use a roster spot on the 30-year-old given his lack of impact in one sole season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Woike, and many others, have considered that the bruising toll of Looney's play-style may have already caught up with him after so many long seasons with the Warriors. Even if the three-time champion does have something left to give, it's not as if his under-the-rim, physical style is perfectly suited to playing alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Lakers are putting immense pressure on Walker Kessler
Signing Looney isn't necessarily a mistake, so long as he's the third big who can slip in and out of the rotation and isn't required to play 10-15 minutes every night, nor fill in as a starter when/if Kessler is out.
The mistake is placing even more pressure on Kessler than he already faces as the Lakers' biggest offseason acquisition. Not only does he have to play very well to justify the contract and trade cost of multiple first-round picks, but he also has to stay incredibly healthy throughout a long season.
Perhaps the Lakers can adress this issue before it actually materizalizes into a major problem, but they have their work cut out given they also hold interest in acquiring former Warrior Jonathan Kuminga who remains unsigned nearly a month into free agency.
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