Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers
Sports:Basketball
Is JaVale McGee a Good Option for the Other Center Spot? Plus, Kobe's Statue Date is Announced
2023-08-28
The Lakers still have an open roster spot that is earmarked for a center, to help fill in the depth chart behind Anthony Davis and (hopefully) Jaxson Hayes. For most of the summer, that choice has been framed, ideally, as one between Christian Wood and Bismack Biyombo. Very different players, but both established NBAers with defined skill sets.
Of course, the Lakers have no leverage to get either one, since all they can offer is a veteran's minimum contract. So the wait continues.
Now, though, a third player is ready to emerge as at least a possibility, since the Dallas Mavericks are reportedly ready to do what has been rumored for most of the offseason: Release McGee if they can't find a trade partner willing to take him. And since he played here already, and no former Laker can hit the market without being linked back to the team when back on the market, and because there are (in theory) reasonable arguments to be made for his return, well, people will make them.
But is he what the Lakers need?
Would they be better off waiting out Wood or Biyombo? Taking a flier on the most promising G-League center they can find? What about Colin Castleton? Where might he fit into this discussion?
Finally, the Kobe Bryant statue unveiling will come on 2.8.24, a date with significance to the Bryant family and Lakers fans alike. Certainly the context around what a statue honoring Bryant might look like has radically and tragically changed. How the family and the franchise approach this moment will generate a great deal of discussion.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: JaVale McGee is reportedly going to be back on the market, finally. Is he a good option?
SEGMENT 2: What are the scenarios in which McGee would make sense?
SEGMENT 3: The Bryant statue unveiling date has been announced.
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