The Los Angeles Lakers have just made their final move this season: the signing of 7-foot big man, Alex Len. In a statement on X, Len’s agent, Mike Lelchitski, revealed the news that his client is headed to the Lakers.
“Free agent 7-footer Alex Len will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers,” reported ESPN’s Shams Charania. “Len intended to sign with the Pacers but has decided to land in LA after the Lakers rescinded the Mark Williams trade and created new opportunity. Len, 31, provides the Lakers with much-needed depth for their frontline, joining Jaxson Hayes as positional centers.”
The Lakers lost Anthony Davis in the Luka Doncic trade and they’ve been scrambling to fill the hole at the center position ever since. Initially, they settled on a trade for Mark Williams (who was handpicked by Luka) but the Lakers had to botch the deal after the Hornets big man failed his physical.
With the trade deadline officially passed, the Lakers had to look to the NBA free agent market for help and Len was arguably the best player available. The former 5th overall pick is averaging 6.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game for his career but there is confidence he can provide a much-needed spark in the Lakers’ backcourt.
The Lakers, who recently waived Christian Wood to make room for Len, will now move forward with their final roster this season and they are hoping that the two bigs will be enough to give them a strong presence in the paint.
At 32-19, the Lakers are currently 4th in the West, just 2.5 games back from the 2nd-seeded Grizzlies. Their next game is on Wednesday, January 12th, at 9:00 pm against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center.
But Len likely won’t make his debut until the game against the Hornets on February 19th at the Crypto.com arena. If not, look for the Lakers to debut their new frontcourt rotation on Thursday, February 20th at 10:00 PM EST against the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.
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