Why Don't The Los Angeles Lakers Sign This NBA Champion?
On Wednesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers lost 114-110 to the Houston Rockets (on the road in Texas).
They were on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 123-108 (also on the road).
Anthony Davis erupted for 35 points, 17 rebounds and one assist in 33 minutes of playing time against the Pelicans.
However, he did not play on Wednesday in the loss to the Rockets.
Via ESPN's Dave McMenamin on Tuesday night: "Anthony Davis will not play tomorrow in Houston, according to Darvin Ham. There was an organizational decision to keep him out of back-to-backs, even though Ham stressed that Davis remains pain free playing on the foot that kept him out of 20 games earlier this season."
Since they are playing it safe with Davis (who has missed 26 games), I believe they should consider signing 2019 NBA Champion Serge Ibaka to add depth to the roster.
The 14-year veteran is still just 33 years old and is currently a free agent.
He played in 16 games for the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this season and averaged 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.6 minutes of playing time per contest.
At one point, he was the best rim protector in the league and has a career average of 1.9 blocks per contest.
In addition, Ibaka has been part of many elite teams and helped the Toronto Raptors win the 2019 NBA Championship over the Golden State Warriors.
While he is no longer the player he once was, Ibaka could be a good backup for Davis.
Last season, he played in 54 games with the Los Angeles Clippers (and Bucks) and averaged 6.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest (while shooting 50.0% from the field and 37.4% from the three-point range).
With the loss to the Rockets, the Lakers dropped to 34-36 in 70 games, which has them as the tenth seed in the Western Conference (the final play-in tournament spot).
