The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks stunned the sports world by agreeing to a trade that swaps Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic. As the dust settles, everybody is wondering what comes next for these two franchises. For the Lakers specifically, who's going to play center now that Davis is gone?

Los Angeles had already been exploring the center market before this blockbuster, with Davis recently expressing his desire to play more power forward (a move that apparently irked the franchise). While the Lakers didn't need to trade for a center upgrade with Davis around, they absolutely need one now that Jaxson Hayes is in line to start with Davis gone. Over at Hardwood Paroxysm, Matt Moore says “everything he's heard continues to revolve around Robert Williams.” 

However, Moore also notes the Portland Trail Blazers have “maintained” a desire to keep Williams around, even despite his injury history and the presence of both Deandre Ayton and Donovan Clingan in the center rotation. If Williams isn't gettable, Moore highlights Clint Capela as another top option. Capela has been on the trade market for a while, and Moore also confirms ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel that Los Angeles has been talking to the Atlanta Hawks about Bogdan Bogdanovic. Could Los Angeles try to get both Capela and Bogdanovic in a bigger deal?

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Other Lakers trade options

There are a number of other center trade targets that have been named for the Lakers this season. Jonas Valanciunas was a popular one at first, but it seems that has cooled. Myles Turner's name popped up recently and would make sense given the need for defensive help, but it's unclear if the Indiana Pacers are serious about moving him ahead of his free agency. Nikola Vucevic is available but isn't a defensive presence. Walker Kessler and Jakob Poeltl would be nice gets, but it doesn't seem like their teams actually want to trade them right now. There are likely other targets as well. Mitchell Robinson would be more attractive if he wasn't still injured.

Los Angeles somehow still has one first-round pick to trade after only giving up one to get Doncic, so an enticing offer can be made for a center. One has to imagine a trade is imminent on this front, so stay tuned.