Lakers Must Target Key Piece to Help Luka amid Latest NBA Trade Rumors Despite Undefeated Record

Gripes are hard to find amid the Los Angeles Lakers' 3-0 start to the 2026-27 NBA season.

Difficult, but not impossible, though.

For everything going the way of the Purple and Gold so far—undefeated, in possession of the Association's fourth-best net rating, per NBA.com—there is a clear weak spot with this roster that, if not addressed, could become a bigger issue down the line.

The Lakers need to upgrade their backup center spot over incumbent Kevon Looney. And they seemingly know it, as they reportedly tried to land bouncy backup Jericho Sims from the Milwaukee Bucks before the season, but "those discussions were derailed by Milwaukee's intent to extract two future second-round picks in the deal and the Lakers' insistence that they part with only one," per NBA insider Jake Fischer.

Now, that's not to suggest that L.A. was at all wrong about its valuation of Sims or the assets that would've been required to land him. He has made all of one appearance (spanning just two minutes) over Milwaukee's first three games.

A single second-round pick was a reasonable walk-away price point for L.A.

What this highlights, rather, is the need to address this position at some point. And with the Lakers perhaps positioning themselves for a deep playoff run, they would presumably want to land this upgrade sooner than later to offer ample time to incorporate the new player into their plans.

Because Sims, of course, is just one of many players capable of filling this void.

Lakers' insider Jovan Buha, for instance, argued for a reunion with Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez, a member of the 2017-18 Lakers. The skilled 7-footer is off to a strong start this season, threatening to spoil that unblemished record with a 22-point, three-block effort when these clubs collided on Friday night.

"[Lopez] is just better than Looney," Buha opined," Looney is probably a better screener and rebounder, Lopez is better at just about everything else ... and he might just be one of the most attainable backup bigs."

With the Clippers having abandoned all hopes of contending after the summer subtraction of Kawhi Leonard, they wouldn't figure to cling too tightly onto a 38-year-old reserve. Especially since they have a deep draft pick deficit to work their way out of now.

Could the Lakers have better luck in talks with the Clippers than they did with the Bucks? Maybe. If nothing else, it's certainly worth a phone to call find out.

As with Sims, though, this search doesn't need to end with Lopez. It just has to deliver someone. Walker Kessler deserves some credit for this, but it also speaks to the lack of reliable options behind him that L.A. has fared a whopping 28.8 points worse per 100 possessions without Kessler on the floor.

The Lakers clearly can't afford that kind of slippage. And they'd be in serious trouble if Kessler, who missed all but five games last season due to left shoulder sugery, were forced to miss any time.

If L.A. wants to keep the good times rolling, it has to guard itself the times that won't be so good. Upgrading the backup center spot should be a simple, cost-effective way of working toward that goal.