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Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis made his trade request public. However, it's not for him. It's for the organization to bring in another center, so Davis can slide back to the power forward position. While the big has been great at the center spot, it's not his natural position.
Still, two of the main names the Lakers have been attached to, are Nikola Vucevic and Jonas Valanciunas. Although both are quality offensive centers, there's a glaring discrepancy with both players. NBA insiders Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst elaborated more on The Hoop Collective Podcast.
“The whole AD needs a Center thing, you could say hey, he had Bigs next to him when they won the championship in the bubble so on and so forth,” MacMahon said.
“Like what Big do you think they’re getting that is going to elevate them to anything close to contender status? Do you think Jonas Valanciunas does that? I mean do you think Vucevic does that if they’re able to put something like that together?
Anthony Davis's center request might not happen for the Lakers
Even though the Lakers have been highly interested in Vucevic for quite a while. He's a great offensive center but again, can be a liability on defense. The centers Davis played with on that championship team, were Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee. Both are more known for their defense than the offense.
Howard and McGee protected the basket at a high level and were a dominant paint presence. While they didn't have expanded offensive games like Vucevic and Valanciunas, the defense made up for it. As a result, Windhorst chimed in and explained more of his concerns, if the Lakers traded for one of the two centers.
“The thing about it is, Valanciunas has been a guy that’s been rumored since the Summer because there had been reports that, that’s what LeBron did, he made it clear that he would take less money, one of the guys he would take less money for,” Windhorst said.
“Valanciunas can’t switch. If you had Austin Reeves and Valanciunas on the court, teams would have two guys that they can attack.”
The same goes for Vucevic as well. He's not an ideal defender and could make Davis's life more difficult. As Windhorst mentioned, Reaves isn't the best defender. He and Vucevic or Valanciunas could force Davis to work overtime on the defensive end.
Either way, it's a gamble for the franchise to make. They traded D'Angelo Russell for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton in late December. Making another move at the center spot should be a thoughtful process, and not one solely because Davis requested it.
