Lakers’ Center Options Continue to Decrease As Veteran Free Agent Signs with Clippers

Another option off the market!

The Los Angeles Lakers have pretty much covered every hole on their roster and retained majority of their key contributors. Someone like Lonnie Walker IV wanted an opportunity to get more money along with more offensive opportunities and that's why he left to the Brooklyn Nets.

However, Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura will all be returning on very team-friendly deals and a mix of veterans and young talent have also been added to the roster. Seeing that LA really could not find a full-time big man last season and haven't been able to find one since the Dwight Howard/Javale McGee pairing in 2020, they targeted Jaxson Hayes just a couple of days into free agency and he will now fill the role of an athletic big next to AD.

WELCOME TO THE GANG JAXSON HAYES 🥶 pic.twitter.com/FwEwoTRWaq

— nat 🪬 (@habibiting) July 1, 2023

But Hayes simply will not be enough by himself and now that LA is pretty set on wings, their number one priority should be targeting one more big this summer. Names that have been brought up are Christian Wood, Javale McGee and Mason Plumlee was originally an option but he is now off the market.

Free agent C Mason Plumlee has agreed on a one-year, $5 million deal to return to the LA Clippers, agent Mark Bartelstein of @Prioritysports tells ESPN. Plumlee landed with Clippers at deadline and decides to stay with LA despite bigger financial offers elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/YrYpYUAGLm

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2023

"Free agent C Mason Plumlee has agreed on a one-year, $5 million deal to return to the LA Clippers, agent Mark Bartelstein of @Prioritysports tells ESPN. Plumlee landed with Clippers at deadline and decides to stay with LA despite bigger financial offers elsewhere."(Via Adrian Wojnarowski)

Plumlee would have been a solid option for LA seeing that he was coming off of a second half of the 2022-2023 season with the Clippers where he averaged seven points on 72 percent from the field in 23 games.

But once Russell Westbrook signed a two-year deal to return to the Clippers for $8 million, it seemed pretty likely that Plumlee would be back as well and now the Lakers will have to look elsewhere .

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