A tweet with a single emoticon and a cryptic, wordless Instagram story were all Mark Williams needed to spread his message.
Months after the nixed trade that would have sent Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 first-round pick, and a 2030 first-round pick swap, the Lakers were unceremoniously dumped out of the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 4-1. The icing on the cake was a Game 5 performance in which the Timberwolves shot just seven-for-47 from beyond the arc and still won behind a 27-point, 24-rebound, two-block performance by center Rudy Gobert, a player whose unjustified poor playoff reputation preceded him.
During the closeout game, center Jaxson Hayes — whose string of solid performances after Anthony Davis’ injury was likely a contributing factor to Los Angeles’ decision to fail Williams’ physical and rescind the trade — didn’t play a single minute. Instead, six-foot-eight Rui Hachimura spent 84% of his 182 minutes at center, and the Lakers were outscored by 14.8 points per 100 possessions with him on the court. Minnesota has scored the third-most points in the paint per game these playoffs, while Los Angeles scored the fewest.
For Williams, the ship has probably sailed; it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the Lakers turn around and make the deal for Williams that they opted not to do during the regular season, because all their leverage is gone and Williams probably has little interest in playing for Los Angeles. But Gobert’s masterpiece outlines one thing clearly for the Lakers: if they want any chance of maximizing LeBron James’ remaining years, they need to acquire a center this summer.
The best big who could possibly be on the trade market this summer is Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, but that would likely require Los Angeles to part ways with Luka Dončić, which is an obvious non-starter. A more realistic trade target is probably the Brooklyn Nets’ Nicolas Claxton.
I’d imagine that the Lakers will use the trade option to acquire a center, and I think it’s more likely that not that one of Claxton and the Utah Jazz’s Walker Kessler will wear purple and gold in 2025-26. But in case newly-promoted Rob Pelinka decides he’s unwilling to part ways with any player capital, here are a few other big men Los Angeles could target in free agency.
1. Myles Turner
Turner is the best center who might be available in free agency, and he’d complement both James and Dončić perfectly. Across 10 seasons in Indiana, he’s averaged 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game while nailing 36.2% of his three-pointers, earning Defensive Player of the Year votes twice. He neither turns the ball over nor fouls very much, he hasn’t been whistled for a technical foul in four seasons, and he has never had any off-the-court controversy. Of the 21 players who defended at least 400 shots within six feet of the basket this season, the 55.4% that Turner allowed opponents to shoot was the league’s fifth-lowest.
A lot might hinge on the Pacers’ second-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Indiana is coming off a statement series win over the Bucks, ousting Antetokounmpo in five games, and it has a chance of matching its performance last season, when it made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2013-14. The Pacers’ core has plenty of building blocks — point guard Tyrese Haliburton, power forward Pascal Siakam, and Turner, in addition to defensive-minded role players Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith and bench scorer Bennedict Mathurin — and they have been one of the league’s best teams for months. If Indiana pushes the 64-win Cavaliers to even six games, it could change the franchise’s offseason calculus dramatically.
Indianapolis is the seventh-smallest market among the league’s 30 teams, with a metro population of just over two million people. Pacers owner Herb Simon, a real estate magnate, is worth roughly $5 billion, per Forbes. That’s a lot of money, but given the rapidly-rising salaries that players expect and the crippling nature of the luxury tax, Indiana will have some difficult financial decisions to make this summer. Although the Pacers have Turner’s Bird rights and can go over the cap to re-sign him, they are just $20 million below the luxury tax before considering Turner. They haven’t paid the luxury tax since 2005-06, and reportedly don’t plan to next season, either, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
If Indiana wants to stay below the tax line and still keep Turner, it’ll likely need to part ways with backup power forward Obi Toppin’s $14 million contract, given that Turner will likely command roughly $30 million per season. If the Pacers truly believe that their core is able to win a championship — a reasonable expectation, given their success over the second half of this season — they will likely find a way to extend Turner even at the cost of some of the team’s auxiliary pieces. His lofty price tag could also keep Turner away from Los Angeles; unless James retires, the Lakers already have $191 million on the books and can’t even fit Turner’s contract under the second apron. Acquiring Turner would require a sign-and-trade, probably involving Hachimura, unless he somehow takes the taxpayer mid-level exception, which will amount to $5.7 million next season.
2. Clint Capela
Turner is the dream, as he’s an even better player than Williams, Claxton, or Kessler. Capela, meanwhile, is a more realistic target.
After four fairly productive seasons with the Houston Rockets and four more with the Hawks, the 30-year-old Swiss big struggled in the 2024-25 season. He averaged just 8.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game in just 21 minutes per game, his lowest averages virtually across the board since his sophomore season. In late January, Atlanta decided to shift former lottery pick Onyeka Okongwu into the starting lineup, and Capela’s minutes and production dropped. He then suffered a hand injury and was ruled out for the season in late March.
Unlike Turner, who’s expected to see a significant raise during the offseason, Capela’s value is at its nadir. He earned $22.3 million with the Hawks this season, but after his rough season, he won’t get anything close to that on the open market. The shelf life for undersized, paint-bruising bigs who can’t shoot threes is rather short, and one who lost his starting job and then suffered a season-ending injury is unlikely to command much attention from NBA teams. Atlanta has two big contracts — point guard Trae Young and power forward Jalen Johnson — on the books, and Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels is certain to get a sizable extension this offseason, so Capela doesn’t factor much into the Hawks’ future plans.
The advantage of signing a player like Capela is that Los Angeles wouldn’t have to give up any assets to get him, while a deal for a more proven big like Claxton or Turner would require giving up Hachimura. The Lakers’ small-ball lineup with Hachimura at center has some merits, even if it wasn’t effective against the Timberwolves this series, and JJ Redick would surely like to have that option moving forward. Capela is a physical, savvy veteran who can soak up 24 minutes per game, grab some rebounds and defend at a high level, leaving the other 24 minutes to a small-ball look. Los Angeles will likely also retain Hayes, especially if Dorian Finney-Smith declines his $15.3 million player option and looks elsewhere.
3. Kevon Looney
Golden State would probably like to keep Looney for the remainder of Stephen Curry’s career, given that he was part of the Warriors’ 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2021-22 championship units. He brings some size — although he’s only six-foot-nine, he plays like a traditional big and had the 14th-highest total rebounding percentage among all 569 players to take the court this season — and besides him, Golden State doesn’t have much of that. The Warriors have been killed on the boards by the Houston Rockets’ center tandem of Alperen Şengün and Steven Adams (the latter of whom is also a possible Lakers free agency target) so far this series, even with Looney soaking up 10 minutes per game.
But the veteran has become somewhat expendable this offseason, since the Warriors clearly like what they have in second-round rookie Quinten Post. The seven-foot Dutchman brings more shooting than Looney does — he hit 40.8% of his threes during his rookie season — making him a valuable floor spacer around newly-acquired star Jimmy Butler, who isn’t much of a three-point threat. During Golden State’s first-round series, Post has played nearly twice as many minutes as Looney has, and given that Looney would likely command the mid-level exception while Post has a team option for less than $2 million next season, the Warriors will prioritize Post. Golden State has some tricky financial decisions to make this offseason: Curry, Butler and Draymond Green are under contract for more than $139.6 million next season, and former lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga is an unrestricted free agent.
Like Capela, Looney’s primary selling point is his affordability, given the cost of acquiring Claxton, Kessler, or Turner. He has proven himself capable of high-level play for a championship-quality team, playing 20-plus minutes per game on the latter two Warriors championship teams and starting each of the first three games of the 2022 NBA Finals. He’s an extremely capable rim protector, as opponents shot just 51.3% at the rim against him this season, the eighth-best mark among 209 players to defend at least 200 such shots, and coming out of the Warriors’ cut-heavy offensive scheme, he would be a natural fit alongside Dončić and James.
