Lakers fans do detective work Rob Pelinka clearly hasn't to find their next center

The Los Angeles Lakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. With Luka Dončić's supermax extension on the horizon, L.A. is carefully threading the needle between present competitive needs and the desire to maintain long-term flexibility. How LeBron James handles this careful balancing act will be one of the offseason's biggest stories.

For now, we can tentatively assume that Dončić and James will both be in the lineup on Opening Day. The Lakers lost Dorian Finney-Smith to Houston in the early hours of free agency, but replaced him at a fraction of the price with Jake LaRavia, which is good business. What the Lakers need to really nail, however, is their search for a starting center.

Rob Pelinka has thus far done very little to assuage concerns about L.A.'s frontcourt depth. He did not draft a center in the second round, like most fans expected, and the free-agent pool has dried up rather quickly. Clint Capela and Brook Lopez, long-rumored Lakers targets, signed with the Rockets and the Clippers, respectively. Myles Turner went to the Bucks before L.A. even had a chance to pursue him. Luke Kornet, Kevon Looney, Day'Ron Sharpe — they've all landed new contracts.

A few options remain on the board for the Lakers, such as Al Horford and Moritz Wagner, but there's one who stands above the rest. The Lakers are just waiting for him to officially clear waivers.

Deandre Ayton fuels Lakers speculation with L.A. hat on IG stories

Deandre Ayton agreed to a contract buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers, which saved Portland $10 million and gave Ayton the chance to join a contender. With the Clippers, Rockets and now Bucks soaking up the marquee free-agent centers, very few teams stand between Ayton and the Lakers. There's a world in which the Pacers get desperate, but the Lakers have a $14.1 million mid-level exception to burn and a glitzy market to sell Ayton on. Plus he shares an agent (and a draft class) with Dončić.

It's generally unwise to put too much stock into the hat a player wears on social media (a lot of NBA players train in L.A. during the offseason and being a Dodgers fan is nonexclusive to playing for the Lakers), but the Ayton-L.A. buzz is strong regardless. Is he actually a good fit? Not really. But does he satisfy the Lakers' appetite for big names? Absolutely. As the Lakers try to appease an anxious LeBron, they can at least spin Ayton as a high-upside signing with an aim to contend.

That said, this is one of those outcomes the Lakers fan base should probably hope to avoid. With all due respect, Ayton's status as a No. 1 pick who looks like a Greek god leads to folks vastly overestimate his impact. His effort wanes on defense. He's not a very forceful player around the rim, despite his immense size and strength. Dončić tends to thrive with a rim-runner who can set hard screens and finish acrobatically in the paint. Ayton doesn't really get up for lobs all that often and he mostly half-sets his screens. He prefers to plod in the post and sometimes face up from the elbow. The ball sticks with Ayton more than it does with Dončić's traditionally successful big man partners, like Dereck Lively or Daniel Gafford.

Ayton does fill a need in the sense that L.A. has a cosmic void at the center position right now. But there will be better options, even if requires a creative trade solution or a slightly lower-profile free agent. Signing Ayton feels destined to age poorly if the Lakers go through with it.