The Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls, at the moment, are still looking for more big man depth even after making a few moves in free agency. The Lakers may have added Jaxson Hayes, but given Anthony Davis' injury woes, it's no wonder they're still on the lookout for more insurance at the position, while the Bulls are looking for additional beef up front behind Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, both of whom decided to return to the team for next season.

However, both teams missed out on Nerlens Noel, one of the best rim protectors left in the free agency market, after the Sacramento Kings, a team that won 48 games and nabbed the third seed in the Western Conference, beat them to the 29-year old's signature.

Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, both the Lakers and the Bulls reportedly expressed interest in signing Noel. Nonetheless, it seems like both of the teams' interest in the veteran center did not go beyond the exploratory stage, as the Kings finalized a one-year, $3.1 million deal with the center in recent days.

It's certainly interesting that Nerlens Noel chose to sign with the Kings instead of the Lakers, as there's a greater chance that he could end up being the team's second-string big man over Jaxson Hayes. In Sacramento, Noel will have to compete with the likes of Trey Lyles, Alex Len, and perhaps even Sasha Vezenkov for minutes behind Domantas Sabonis, so it'll certainly be a much tougher task.

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Nevertheless, perhaps Noel believes that laying low for a bit with the Kings may be helpful as he tries to revive his career after a few down years. Last season, Noel just played 17 games combined, splitting time with the Detroit Pistons and the Brooklyn Nets. And before last season, he only played in 25 games for the New York Knicks, missing a ton of time due to injuries.

After missing out on Nerlens Noel, it'll be interesting to see what the Lakers do to add more depth at center. Perhaps they finally pull the trigger on Christian Wood after a will-they, won't-they dance over the past few weeks.