Most analysts/journalists seem to believe that replacing Deandre Ayton this summer should be a priority for the Los Angeles Lakers, and they couldn’t be more on point.
Ayton’s frustrating play should prompt Los Angeles to identify a viable offseason replacement for the 7-foot center. Lakers insider Jovan Buha agrees, citing that moving from Ayton (he could opt out of his $8 million player option for the 2026-27 season) and signing a former Boston Celtics All-Defensive center might be a solid long-term frontcourt-centered move.
“At least add one more center, or maybe (Deandre Ayton) opts out and then you replace him with a Robert Williams or Mitchell Robinson, something like that,” Buha said Sunday.
“If you could add those two positions, and go into next year with a new center and a new wing, plus Luka (Doncic), Austin (Reaves), and LeBron (James), and also have Marcus (Smart) and Rui (Hachimura) as your sixth and seventh men, I really like that top seven.”
If the Lakers feel comfortable with the injury risk that would come with adding Williams to their roster (he missed over 100 games due to several ailments since joining the Portland Trail Blazers in 2023), they could find themselves legitimately mulling a potential offseason signing.
While Williams isn’t a high-volume low-post/pick-and-roll scorer, he’s highly efficient when aggressive/involved in the Trail Blazers’ offense. The Texas A&M product has finished with at least a 64% field goal shooting percentage in each of his first three campaigns with Portland, indicating he’s a dependable scorer around the rim.
Williams also exhibited signs of being an impactful stretch five, as he attempted a career-high 23 triples and connected on nine of them (39.1%).
Don’t sleep on the 28-year-old’s interior defense, either, as he’s coming off a 1.5-block campaign with the 42-40 Trail Blazers. Although there will be stronger frontcourt options than Williams on the market this summer, adding the veteran big man to their radar would be a reasonable step for the Lakers.
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