Lakers Reportedly 'Made a Call' About Hawks' Onyeka Okongwu at NBA Trade Deadline

After making their big acquisition of Luka Dončić, the Los Angeles Lakers at least looked into another significant deal before the February trade deadline.

On the Straight Fire podcast with Jason McIntyre (h/t Ron Gutterman of Lakers Daily), ESPN's Dave McMenamin said the Lakers "made a call" to the Atlanta Hawks about Onyeka Okongwu.

McMenamin noted their call about Okongwu was made before the Lakers made the initial deal with the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams that Los Angeles ultimately rescinded before it was officially announced.

Okongwu is the type of player that Dončić has thrived playing with throughout his career. The USC alum is a 6'10" lob threat with some defensive acumen in the paint.

While maybe not the superstar-level player Lakers fans would prefer, Okongwu also would have filled the huge void at center that wound up being exploited by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs.

Okongwu's age—he won't turn 25 until December—would have lined up with the timeline the Lakers are on now with Dončić as the future of their franchise. It also would have helped that Okongwu is signed to a reasonable deal with three years and $47.98 million left on his contract.

Given that the Hawks made Okongwu their starting center over Clint Capela in January, it's not a surprise they didn't seem to have much interest in trading him.

Of course, the Hawks are also in a difficult position of trying to figure out what their direction will be. They have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and haven't won more than 43 games since the 2015-16 campaign.

If the Hawks were to entertain a short-term rebuild, Okongwu would figure to be one of their most valuable trade assets given his age, contract and improved performance. He averaged career highs in scoring (13.9), rebounding (8.9) and assists (2.3) per game in 74 appearances this season.

The Lakers are almost certainly going to be in the market for a starting center this summer. They finished the season with Jaxson Hayes getting most of the starts, but he was virtually unplayable in the postseason with just 30 minutes in four games against Minnesota.