The Lakers already have the perfect offseason target to replace Deandre Ayton

Ever since acquiring Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers have made it their priority to acquire a center for him to play with. Doncic is known to maximize big men in the pick-and-roll and as lob threats, a strength he was able to develop in his time with the Mavericks.

The Lakers attempted to find their big man of the future when they traded for then-Hornets center Mark Williams, but the trade was rescinded when Williams failed his physical. Now, he is playing the best basketball of his career with the Suns. 

Los Angeles is still searching for a solid long-term answer at the five spot. They brought in Deandre Ayton in the offseason, but he has been very inconsistent for them on both ends of the floor. His lack of rim-protection, tendency for dumb fouls, and his lack of offensive feel have been frustrating. LA will need to address the center position in the summer time and there is one obvious target. 

The Lakers should go all-in for Jazz center Walker Kessler this summer

Kessler is set to be a restricted free-agent and LA is set to have a ton of cap space. He is going to command at least $30 million per season. Now that the Jazz have Jaren Jackson Jr. and his max contract on the books, they will have to evaluate if they want to be paying three seven-footers top dollar. 

Kessler is the perfect fit for the Lakers. He is a strong rim-protector, rebounder, and would be a viable lob threat for Doncic. His season was cut short due to a shoulder injury, but he has averaged two blocks per game over his first three full seasons. Last year, he averaged 11 points per game, 12 rebounds, two blocks, and shot 66 percent from the field. It was the best basketball of his young career.

Kessler also showed in the five games he played this year that he is at least developing a three-point shot. He was six-of-eight from downtown over that span and if he can continue that into next season, that makes him even more of a complete commodity. 

The Lakers have maintained that they wanted to maintain flexibility for this summer and the next to build a sustainable contender around Doncic. Their first order of business should be addressing the center spot, a weakness that goes back to even the years they had Anthony Davis. Kessler is on Doncic’s timeline, is a developing two-way force, and LA will likely be able to afford him given the amount of cap space they are set to have.