Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers have had a trade deadline for the ages, completely changing the long-term outlook of their franchise over the last few days.
The big move, of course, was bringing in Luka Doncic in a surprise trade with the Dallas Mavericks that cost them Anthony Davis and Max Christie.
Considering the Lakers didn’t use all of their assets to acquire Doncic, they were able to turn around and acquire a center to help replace Davis. On the eve of the trade deadline, reports came out that L.A. was sending Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2030 pick swap and an unprotected 2031 first round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams.
However, that trade ended up being rescinded due to concerns with Williams’ physical. That meant that Knecht and Reddish were back in L.A. and the team was without a starting center after the trade deadline. While reports indicated the Lakers feel they dodged a bullet by not giving up valuable assets for Williams, they were left to use free agency and the buyout market to address their need at center.
They were able to do so by signing Alex Len and waiving Christian Wood to open up a roster spot, per Shams Charania of ESPN:
Free agent 7-footer Alex Len will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, agent Mike Lelchitski tells ESPN. Len intended to sign with the Pacers but has decided to land in LA after the Lakers rescinded the Mark Williams trade and created new opportunity. pic.twitter.com/pjqV5HaK4n
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 11, 2025
The Lakers are waiving Christian Wood to sign Len, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/PqANIme1CE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 11, 2025
Len is a former No. 5 overall pick that was recently traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Washington Wizards and subsequently waived. He was originally expected to sign with the Indiana Pacers but that fell through, likely because he feels this is a better opportunity in L.A.
The 31-year-old has played sparing minutes in 36 games for the Kings this season but can provide the Lakers with some much-needed size at 7’0″ and 250 pounds.
It’s unlikely that Len unseats Jaxson Hayes as the Lakers’ starting center, but he will give JJ Redick a bigger option to go to in certain matchups such as the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokic.
As for Wood, he will be a free agent with the ability to sign elsewhere once he gets healthy. He has bot been able to suit up this year due to a knee injury.
Lakers’ Maxi Kleber to be re-evaluated in eight weeks
The Lakers acquired Maxi Kleber along with Luka Doncic in the trade with the Mavericks. Kleber recently broke his foot though and revealed that he had surgery and is set to be re-evaluated in around eight weeks, potentially keeping him out for the rest of the season.
Kleber has one more year on his contract after this one at around $11 million. The Lakers likely attempted to trade him before the deadline but were unable to do so. Now, the hope is that he will be able to return at some point and contribute to a potential playoff run.
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