Lakers News: LA Misses Out On Signing Defensive-Oriented Big Man

He could have helped shore up the Lakers' frontcourt depth.

Your Los Angeles Lakers still have an open spot on their standard 15-man roster as the 2022-23 NBA season winds down.

The buyout market, which had been pretty active in recent weeks, is slowly cooling down. Recently, another veteran who could have theoretically helped LA opted to go elsewhere, though it is unclear he ever spoke with the Lakers' front office.

Nerlens Noel has joined the Brooklyn Nets to back up starting center Nic Claxton on a 10-day contract, ESPN reports. According to Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors, this new deal will be worth a pro-rated a $151,821 salary.

The Pistons bought out the remainder of Noel's $9.2 million salary this season to allow him to hit the market. He had a team option for $9.7 million in 2023-24 that Detroit was clearly not going to pick up.

Noel, 28, is a rim-rolling center with a solid defensive touch around the rack. He played sparingly with the Pistons, appearing in just 14 games. The 6'11" big man averaged 2.3 points and 2.6 rebounds across 10.9 minutes. 

As far as LA is concerned, the team probably feels comfortable with its current backup centers, 3-and-D seven-footer Mo Bamba and 6'9" power forward/center Wenyen Gabriel. But with Bamba currently shelved due to a left ankle sprain (an affliction that seems to be contagious for LA of late), adding a contingency third center could theoretically make sense.

Instead, for now the Lakers remain on the buyout market. Power forward Juancho Hernangomez, center Serge Ibaka, small forward Justin Jackson, and point guard John Wall represent some of the top unsigned names in the league.

 Ex-Lakers forward Stanley Johnson is still out there, too, but LA cannot add him. The Lakers traded him to the Utah Jazz in the offseason as part of the package that landed the team another now-ex-Laker, Patrick Beverley, but the Jazz subsequently waived Johnson rather than flipping him again. Johnson latched on with the San Antonio Spurs for a spell and carved out a legitimate role for himself, but given that San Antonio is thoroughly in the midst of a Tank-O-Rama for Wembanyama, the team eventually cut him too, rather than trade him. Had either club flipped Johnson, LA would have been able to bring him back this season.

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