The Los Angeles Lakers have already set their sights on the next big man they want to don a Lakers uniform, it's Festus Ezeli, according to SportingNews.com's Sean Deveney. Not only did they hire Luke Walton as the head coach but now they want a Golden State player. They literally would be taking part of the Warriors and applying it themselves.

Reportedly, Ezeli would rather remain a Warriors player, and will be a restricted free agent this summer, meaning the Warriors have the right to match any offer given to him. The possibility remains that a team offers him a large contract, too much for the Warriors to match, which they also have to take that into consideration as well.

The Lakers plan would be to pair Ezeli in the front court with Julius Randle with his ability to defend the rim as a shot-blocker, and Randles rebounding ability as a compliment.

andre iguodala festus ezeli
Getty Images

The only concern with Ezeli is injuries, as he has yet to play a full season in either of the last two years because of knee problems. If that's a risk the Lakers are willing to deal with along with a high salary, they may have a chance.

Several league executives have told Sean Deveney that a three-year, $50-million deal is what it may take to get Ezeli. That's more than 15 million a year for a Center who has never started and and is considered by some to be injury-prone.  This has to all be taken into consideration by the Lakers brass if they decide that Ezeli is somebody they want to be a big part of their future.

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