Lakers Linked as Potential Trade Suitor for Robert Williams III, 2 Other Centers

The Los Angeles Lakers are no stranger to trade rumors. They’re linked in some fashion to many of the biggest names at the trade deadline virtually every season.

But this year, the trade chatter has ramped up a bit sooner than normal for the Lakers. This primarily has to do with the fact that the belief for the past year or two has been that the team would like to add another big man alongside Anthony Davis.

With Davis playing at an MVP level under new head coach JJ Redick, the team’s pursuit of a big man to pair up with Davis and LeBron James could pick up steam quickly.

While the Lakers are just 11 games into the season and currently sit at 7-4, ESPN NBA insider Dave McMenamin has already pegged three big men to monitor in a potential deal.

During a recent appearance on The Hoop Collective podcast, McMenamin cited Robert Williams III of the Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas and Nic Claxton of the Brooklyn Nets as possible targets.

“You look at Valanciunas as a name that’s legitimately still on the Lakers’ radar, and we’ll have to see how Washington’s season goes,” McMenamin said. “Portland’s having a really terrible start to the year, but Time Lord’s back in the mix, could Robert Williams be someone the Lakers could acquire? Another realistic name you look to.”

“Look at Brooklyn. They’ve been very competitive thus far, but are they going to be able to sustain that? Maybe a Nic Claxton could be a name in the mix for the Lakers.”

Interestingly, McMenamin noted that Davis looks back at the 2020 Lakers team that won the title, and it’s a big driving force behind his interest in playing alongside another talented big man.

“Because they won in 2020 with the Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee combo next to Anthony Davis – Anthony Davis never let go of that idea that that’s my best chance to win with LeBron, to have that extra layer defensively,” McMenamin explained.

Williams, who’s only 27 years old, has played sparingly since being traded to the Blazers from the Boston Celtics due to injuries. He saw action in six games during the 2023-24 season and has played three games this year. His best season came in 2021-22 with the Celtics, when he averaged 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.0 assists while shooting 73.6% from the field over 61 games.

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