Los Angeles Lakers Rumors: JaVale McGee May Be Headed To The Lakers
According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, the Los Angeles Lakers are one of the frontrunners to sign a free agent center who could add much needed depth to their lineup. The Los Angeles Lakers current center is Roy Hibbert, who is quite inconsistent.
The Los Angeles Lakers are pursuing free agent center JaVale McGee. McGee last played for Philadelphia 76ers, where he averaged 4.6 points in 11.1 minutes per game. JaVale was plagued by injury throughout the season, causing him to only compete in 23 contests last season, before being waived by Philadelphia in March.
McGee’s plan was to hopefully catch on with a contending club, but no team was willing to take a chance on the athletic big man known for making embarrassing plays.
The other frontrunner to land this athletic center is the Dallas Mavericks. Since DeAndre Jordan somehow slipped through the fingers of Dallas, the Mavericks have been searching for a center. Dallas has picked up a couple of serviceable backups, in Samuel Dalembert and Zaza Pachulia, but neither of those veterans will solve the Mavericks’ long-term problem. Before the Los Angeles Lakers came into the discussion, the Mavericks seem to be the only team looking to add JaVale McGee.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Los Angeles Clippers had shown interest in McGee early in the free agency window, but that interest has diminished, since they were able to re-sign DeAndre Jordan.
McGee has dealt with lingering leg problems the last two seasons, so in order to get consistent minutes from either of these teams, he must prove he can remain healthy. He probably has a better chance at making his way into the rotation for the Dallas Mavericks than the Los Angeles Lakers, since the Lakers already have signed Roy Hibbert and have a handful of young bigs, like Julius Randle, Tarik Black, and possibly Robert Upshaw. Dallas is much thinner in the front court with players that have proven talent. This won’t stop the Los Angeles Lakers from trying to pick him up anyways, since Randle has never played in the NBA, and Hibbert is highly inconsistent.
Other teams are believed to have interest in McGee, but not as much as the Mavericks and Lakers. It is currently unknown who those other teams are.
Do you think the Los Angeles Lakers will make a transaction in order to acquire JaVale McGee? If not, what other moves do you see the Los Angeles Lakers making before the NBA season begins in October?
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