Report: Luka Doncic 'would absolutely love' promising Pelicans big man

[ASFN Admin]

While the Los Angeles Lakers have 16 players signed to standard contracts, which is one more than is allowed once the regular season starts, they aren't done trying to add to their roster. They continue to explore acquiring forward Jonathan Kuminga, and they're reportedly also scouring the market for another center, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic.

In a separate article, Woike listed some big man options for the Lakers, and among the men he mentioned was Karlo Matković of the New Orleans Pelicans. Matković is 25 years of age, stands 6 feet 10 and weighs 231 pounds, and in two NBA seasons, he has developed into a fine outside shooter and a solid rebounder, although he's not a high-volume shooter.

Per Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, a Western Conference assistant coach feels the big man would fit nicely alongside Luka Doncic in Los Angeles.

“Luka would absolutely love him. Really great athleticism, I mean, if you put a pass near the rim, he is going to get up and get it and score. Very good help defense, he can make up ground and block shots if there’s a blow-by. The 3-pointer is still a work in progress, but he can do it.

“A lot of us saw him in Europe and playing for Croatia and he looked like a young guy who we thought would be more of a contributor by now. Sometimes it takes a little while, but he should be right there if he gets a chance.”

Matković averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 14.7 minutes a game while shooting 60.4% from the field and 42.2% from 3-point range last season. He only took 3.6 treys per 36 minutes this past season, but with just two years of NBA experience, perhaps he's truly trending upward in that category.

He has one year left on his contract at $2.3 million, so he could be a low-cost target for the Lakers should they decide to use one of their limited trade assets to acquire another big man to back up Walker Kessler at the 5.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: Luka Doncic 'would absolutely love' promising Pelicans big man

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