One center Lakers have been interested in likely won't be available

[ASFN Admin]

The Los Angeles Lakers will be going after a major upgrade at the center position this offseason. Over the last few months of this season, all they had in terms of true centers on their roster were Jaxson Hayes, who, at least, is a second-string-caliber player, Alex Len, who made almost no impact, and Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III, both of whom are on two-way contracts.

One center the Lakers have reportedly been interested in for the last couple of years is Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers. Turner isn't the strongest rebounder around, but he's a big-time shot-blocker and rim protector, and he's a legitimate 3-point threat who has to be accounted for.

Turner will be a free agent this summer, and he was always expected to command more than the $19.9 million he made this season. But according to NBA insider Jake Fischer, he is now expected to stay put.

"The rising expectation, league sources say, is that Turner will be extending his stay in the Hoosier State," Fischer wrote. "… Los Angeles' options in free agency would appear to be pretty limited in free agency beyond veterans such as Brook Lopez and Clint Capela."

Unless LeBron James opts out of his contract and takes enough of a pay cut this summer, which he isn't expected to do, the Lakers will only have the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception to offer free agents such as Lopez and Capela.

That means they will most likely have to acquire a center in a trade. Right now, according to Los Angeles Times beat writer Dan Woike, the two centers most linked to them on the trade market are the Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton and the Dallas Mavericks' Daniel Gafford.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: One center Lakers have been interested in likely won't be available

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