Lakers Insider Identifies Another Young Center Team Targeted Ahead of Trade Deadline

Los Angeles is in desperate need of a true center this offseason.

Atlanta Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu moves to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers guard Shake Milton. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers' No. 1 agenda item for the offseason is no secret. After trading Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in the league-shaking Luka Doncic trade, the Lakers never adequately replaced his presence and rim protection in the post.

Los Angeles thought it had a solution at the five, trading for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams... until the deal was undone due to a failed physical. The Lakers would ultimately play small down the stretch, with LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt—all of whom are listed at 6' 8" or 6' 9"—playing the lion's share of frontcourt minutes in the playoffs. L.A. was eliminated in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers will now seek to add an impact player down low this offseason, and ESPN's Dave McMenamin has one name to keep an eye on, after Rob Pelinka and the front office targeted him ahead of the deadline before settling on Williams: Atlanta Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu. Williams was reportedly included on a list of targets that Pelinka presented to Doncic shortly after the Lakers acquired him, and McMenamin says it stands to reason that Okongwu was also on the same Lakers list.

“Before the Mark Williams trade, and I can’t tell you all the names on that list but I actually assume he was one of the names on the list that Rob Pelinka presented to Luka, because I do know the Lakers made a call to the Hawks around the trade deadline about Okongwu,” McMenamin said during an appearance on Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.

The No. 6 pick out of USC in the 2020 NBA draft, the 24-year-old Okongwu has steadily improved over his five years with the Hawks. He posted career highs with 13.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in 2024–25, and at 6' 10" with a 7' 2" wingspan, he fits the bill as a lob threat for James and Doncic to run with in '25–26.

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