The Los Angeles Lakers have yet to decide on who they will sign to fill up their last roster spot and the word out is that they are still waiting which players will be waived. One plausible target is DeAndre Jordan to help plug in their hole in the middle.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Players must be waived by 11:59 ET Friday night for them to be eligible to play in the playoffs with a new team. But at the way things are going, it looks like the New York Knicks have no intention of buying out the 30-year-old center.
Given that scenario, it may be best for the Lakers to consider other candidates they have in mind. Jordan would have been a perfect fit at center, one of several names they had originally targeted. The others were Enes Kanter and Markieff Morris before they were signed by the Portland Trail Blazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder respectively.
Other than the three names, it looks like the Lakers may have to move on and fill up that spot with a cager that plays a different position. Their offense leaves a lot to be desired, once again bringing up the name of Carmelo Anthony.
The 34-year-old was previously linked to the Lakers mainly because of LeBron James. However, Los Angeles said that the only way they would consider the All-Star forward was if a roster spot would be available. That happened when the team traded away Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac to the Los Angeles Clippers for Mike Muscala, ESPN said.
While that would have meant an automatic entry of Anthony, the Lakers took a u-turn somewhere when they started looking for a big man. This may be because they had already taken in Reggie Bullock from the Pistons in a separate trade, CBS Sports said.
With a shooter already in the mix, it seemed logical to go after a big man instead. But now that all their targets have gone kaput, the Lakers may need to move to plan B instead.
There are other things that need to be considered, one of which is the playoffs for the Lakers. Currently, at 30-31, Los Angeles has its work cut out making it to the postseason wars. Ahead of them is the Sacramento Kings (31-30) with the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs tied at 8th spot with similar 34-29 records in the Western Conference.
The Lakers need to string up wins to make to the magic 8. With no center available, Los Angeles could turn to added firepower in Carmelo Anthony instead. Right now, it seems the only logical way for the purple and gold.
