Lakers Must Explore Onyeka Okongwu Trade Amid Center Need, NBA Rumors
The Los Angeles Lakers' need for a center has been well documented, dating back to last season. When the team traded Anthony Davis, a power forward who preferred not to be the team's de facto big, the situation became even more dire.
The organization knows it, too, with Dave McMenamin of ESPN reporting, "The Lakers called the Atlanta Hawks about their 6-10, athletic big man Onyeka Okongwu last season, sources told ESPN."
It is a potential trade that the team should revisit, considering the lack of solutions several months later.
The team has a quality trio of LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Luka Dončić to build around but with the latter carrying a player option in 2026 and James not long for the league entering his age 41 season, it must strike while the proverbial iron is hot.
The best and easiest way for the team to do that is to address its biggest area of need.
Okongwu is an athletic big on the heels of a career season with the Hawks. He played in his second-most games at 74, averaged a career high of 13.4 points, show 56.7 percent from the field, and grabbed 8.9 rebounds. He also averaged his fewest personal fouls since his rookie season in 2020 with 2.6 per game.
His three-point shooting took a ding but by all accounts, the 24-year-old had what many would consider a strong season. He would be entering year two of a contract extension that would pay him $15 million, relatively affordable, long-term deal the Lakers could benefit from, too.
In return, Los Angeles could offer young, potential star-in-the-making Dalton Knecht, as well as any of their expiring contracts, such as Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber, or Gabe Vincent. The team also owns No. 1 draft picks next season, 2028, 2030, and 2031 that they could conceivably offer to sweeten a deal if necessary.
Okongwu thrives in the screen game and can lob with the best of today's big men. That bodes well for the prospects of him and Dončić developing their pick-and-roll game, which would further open up the Lakers' offense and make it one of the league's best.
Considering what he potentially brings to the team, and the relatively low expense that it would be for the Lakers, one has to wonder why the front office has not already hit up the Atlanta brass and revisited a potential deal.
Regardless of the answer, it is one the organization must consider if it wants to win NBA title No. 18 before James calls it a career and Dončić is forced to decide if his dreams of holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy will ever be realized in the City of Angels.
