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Lakers predicted to overpay for $19.5 million Pistons All-Star originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Lakers clearly need center help, but landing a high-profile frontcourt stud may not be as straightforward as many think.
Los Angeles may have to make an expensive roster move that many franchises would deem risky to appease Luka Doncic. Specifically, the Athletic’s Dan Woike believes there’s a world in which the Lakers could overpay for the Detroit Pistons’ 22-year-old All-Star.
“I don’t think restricted free agency ever works, but if I had to overpay someone, it’d be Jalen Duren,” Woike wrote Sunday.
Duren is coming off his best NBA season yet. The physically imposing 6-foot-10 big man took his low-post, rim-running, and pick-and-roll production to a new level in Year 4 while remaining an elite rebounder.
The Memphis product averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on a Pistons squad that earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference, connecting on 65.0% of his field goals in 70 contests.
Duren should undoubtedly be considered a Luka Doncic-approved ‘A-List center’, which explains why Woike believes the Lakers could be the franchise to make the most lucrative free agent offer for the former lottery pick (even if it’s a bit overboard).
At the end of the day, bringing Duren on board won’t be a simple task, but the interest should certainly be there for the Lakers this summer.
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