5 big man trade targets to complete Lakers roster for JJ Redick's debut season

“A watched pot never boils.” Though it's a concept that is likely as old as mankind, this idiom is usually attributed to Benjamin Franklin (as Poor Richard) and describes the idea that waiting for something to happen with a singular focus on it seems to make waiting for it take that much longer. In some ways, this might be a concept that can apply to Lakers fans in 2024.

After being tossed aside by the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs for the second straight year, the NBA’s most popular franchise has seemingly been sitting on its hands ever since. It has left their supporters staring at this pot of water that doesn't seem to want to ever start boiling. They just want to be able to throw in their pasta noodles!

There have been many rumors floating around, as tends to happen with this team. With less than two weeks until opening night, Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka has yet to find a deal he likes that he can get another franchise to bite on. As the season approaches, reserve big man Christian Wood is on the shelf with injury and two-way center Christian Koloko is yet to receive medical clearance to play himself. Even forward Jarred Vanderbilt has yet to play in preseason after offseason surgery on both feet.

The Lakers are looking at a thin bench in the frontcourt, as these issues leave the team with just Anthony Davis, Jaxson Hayes and two-way center Colin Castleton to man the center spot. It is important for the Lakers to maintain a reasonable workload for Davis, while Hayes and Castleton have yet to prove they can be additive to a good team’s rotation.

With these factors in mind, the Lakers are reportedly in the market for a big man to help solidify the rotation for first-year head coach JJ Redick. The Lakers have a few tradeable salaries, a couple of young players and a handful of draft picks they could part with if the right deal came along, so they've got options.

Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like The Whiteboard, share it with an enemy.

5. Day'Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn Nets

Day’Ron Sharpe was a late first-round pick in 2021 by the Brooklyn Nets who has shown flashes of potential for limited stretches of his career but has yet to put it all together consistently. The 22-year-old big man would certainly seem to fit on the desired age curve for the Nets but he is already coming up on the last year of his rookie contract. With Nic Claxton signed to a long-term deal and the team looking at a potentially short rebuild, they may not be willing to offer a worthwhile contract to Sharpe.

Sharpe has shown he has NBA-level size and athleticism for the center spot and an ability to make plays on the defensive end. Though it can lead to him being out of position and definitely leads to a lot of fouls, he has one of the better block rates in the league over the last two seasons. Additionally, he really gets after it on the boards, particularly on the offensive end, where he has created extra possessions in the 97th percentile or better every season of his career, according to Cleaning the Glass.

Making under $4 million in salary this season, it wouldn’t be too hard for the Lakers to find a matching salary to make a deal for Sharpe. The tricky part is finding the right value of young player(s) or draft equity. A first-round pick seems like a bit much for someone so unproven, but do the rebuilding Nets need to move him for something as little as a few seconds?

Perhaps a bigger deal could be made, where the Nets send a wing like Cameron Johnson or Dorian Finney-Smith with Sharpe, allowing the Lakers to justifiably part with a first-round pick with someone like D’Angelo Russell or other salary ballast?

4. Duop Reath, Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers have a glut of centers in DeAndre Ayton, Robert Williams III, Donovan Clingan and Duop Reath. Reath was a 27-year-old rookie last season who found himself in the rotation for a struggling Blazers team due in large part to injuries to Williams. Now, though Williams is injured yet again, they have a big man in Clingan that they took with a lottery pick in this past draft, meaning minutes for Reath could become scarce.

Reath is quite a large human being but is not an extraordinary athlete. This leads to struggles finishing around the rim and covering space on defense. He has also not shown the high-end ability to grab rebounds. What he has shown is an ability to juice an offense with his shooting from the center spot. He gives a lot of Channing Frye vibes in that he can struggle with some of the traditional big man responsibilities but will let it fly from three to space the floor. He fired threes at a rate in the 82nd percentile among bigs last season per Cleaning the Glass and converted on 36 percent from behind the arc overall, including a blistering 46 percent on corner 3s.

Being unproven at the highest levels with seemingly limited upside and on a team already heavily invested in the center position, Reath seems like a candidate that could be available for trade. It is also likely he could be had for a relatively modest price, where maybe even a second or two could do the trick. He obviously has some warts, but the Lakers are in need of bodies and there is a lot of value to be had in five-out spacing for a team's offense.

3. Paul Reed, Detroit Pistons

Paul Reed was claimed off waivers this offseason by the Pistons, so he is not eligible to be traded until 30 days into the season. After that, he’d be fair game to be on the move. The Pistons have invested a lot in young center Jalen Duren and are looking to give him all the reps he can handle, while they’ve also recently signed Isaiah Stewart to a multiyear deal, leaving Reed potentially a bit out in the cold. In theory, Stewart could be an interesting target for the Lakers on the floor as well, but that seems like it might be an issue.

B-ball Paul is another active body on the defensive end and on the boards. Per NBA.com, among those who played 50-plus games, he was top ten in the league in deflections (3.8) and top 25 in contested shots (12.1) per 36 minutes. He’s also starting to show vague signs of stretching his range beyond the arc, though that is still a work in progress.

Finding a workable deal with the Lakers is a bit tricky. If the Pistons decide they’d like to acquire a minor asset or two for Reed, they’d likely have no shortage of suitors. The Lakers have multiple second-round picks they could make available, but the salary matching isn’t so straightforward. Depending on how the asset tradeoff is expanded, involving Gabe Vincent from LA and maybe even Marcus Sasser from Detroit (if they’re feeling like there isn’t room for him) could be a possibility. It seems unlikely Detroit would be too interested in Jalen Hood-Schifino with an already-crowded backcourt, so this one would take some creativity.

2. Jonas Valanciunas, Washington Wizards

We’ve crafted a Jonas-to-LA trade here before, so this one shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The Wizards acquired Valanciunas on a very modest contract and are in a rebuilding position that would make getting some long-term assets for him a sensible move. He’ll likely be an important part of protecting Alex Sarr from the night-to-night pounding during the early part of the season, but if they can get a decent return, it could make sense to move on from the Lithuanian big man.

Valanciunas has long been a dominant rebounder and talented low-post scorer in this league. With career averages of 13 points and 9 rebounds per game, the 13th-year veteran knows how to use his size to his advantage. The nice thing about Jonas is that he has a lot of experience as a starter and could easily slide into that spot next to Anthony Davis if the Lakers wanted to play big and pound teams inside. He could also potentially feast on backup bigs, creating extra possessions on the offensive glass and employing his deft touch around the basket against less talented opposition.

There seems to be a workable deal here with Vincent and multiple seconds. The challenge at this point is that Valanciunas is not eligible to be traded until much later in the season. Can the Lakers wait that long to acquire help for the frontcourt?

1. Chris Boucher, Toronto Raptors

Chris Boucher has spent all but one game of his seven-year career with the Toronto Raptors, having established himself as a useful 3-and-D big. He gets up a lot of threes, hitting 33 percent for his career, while swatting two shots per 36 minutes over that span. Though he is a fan favorite in Toronto, he is on the last year of his contract on a team moving in a younger direction.

He doesn’t offer the size and strength to play the five against all opponents, so he’d have to oscillate between the five and the four, depending on the matchup. His shooting leaves a bit to be desired if he’s playing next to a true center like Davis or Hayes, but the additional weakside rim protection could be useful in certain lineup iterations. At the five, his shooting could be passable enough to get by while his energy and activity give a boost to the second unit.

This is probably the toughest idea to find a solution for. The Lakers would likely have to move Vincent here, so it may require someone like Jalen Hood-Schifino showing significant growth to earn the faith of the front office. Additionally, since Vincent has two more years left on his contract, the Raptors may require some extra second(s) to take on the extra salary for next season. Would bringing in Boucher be worth jumping through all those hoops?

It remains to be seen whether the Lake Show will go into the season as is, letting things play out for a while before making a move or if they can make something happen before opening night. If the former, Jaxson Hayes will have an opportunity to show he's ready for consistent minutes as a positive contributor, for better or worse. If the latter, Lakers fans will finally be able to stop waiting for that boiling water and get started on that delicious spaghetti dish.