Since DeMarcus Cousins unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, general manager Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers have been evaluating their options.
With one roster spot remaining heading into the 2019-20 NBA season, it was ideally for Andre Iguodala, who still has not been bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies yet.
As Los Angeles only has Anthony Davis and JaVale McGee at center, they reportedly were planning individual workouts with at least three centers, including Dwight Howard.
The Lakers have since worked out both Howard and Joakim Noah, who both left impressions they could be helpful to them now, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Lakers completed workouts and meetings with Dwight Howard and Joakim Noah on Thursday and have Mo Speights at the team’s facility today, league sources tell ESPN. Both Howard and Noah left impressions that they could be helpful to the team.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 23, 2019
The Lakers reportedly will also work out Marreeese Speights, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype:
Marreese Speights will work out for the Lakers on Friday, according to sources. Frank Vogel and Ryan West (who's no longer with the Lakers) attended Speights' free-agent workout in Las Vegas last month. L.A. is also expected to work out Dwight Howard and Joakim Noah, as Woj said.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) August 22, 2019
At this point of the 2019 NBA offseason, Pelinka and company have very limited options to replace Cousins.
And out of this potential group, the 33-year-old Howard is the most talented player. As the Grizzlies reportedly ‘would gladly’ buy out Howard, the Lakers need to determine if he is worth the potential issues at this stage of his career.
For Noah, he is perhaps the best fit for Los Angeles. After averaging 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in just 16.5 minutes with the Grizzlies, his defensive energy and playmaking abilities would help them off the bench.
As for Speights, he is obviously the best three-point shooter out of the group (35.6%) if the Lakers are looking for a stretch-five to replace one of Cousins’ abilities (33.2%).