The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the most active teams in the NBA offseason. Rob Pelinka made plenty of moves to help LeBron James pursue another championship.
Following months of rumors and speculation, they were finally able to land Christian Wood. The former Dallas Mavericks big man had been on their radar for quite a while.
And while one would think he’d be their starting center to allowAnthony Davis to play his preferred power forward position, an ESPN report states that’s not going to be the case.
Anthony Davis Doesn’t Want To Play Center
(Via Dave McMenamin)
“Davis was slotted at center in 99% of his minutes last season, according to Cleaning the Glass data. While Davis’ performance in the middle earned him a three-year, $186 million contract extension this summer, the Lakers’ strategy with Rob Pelinka in charge of basketball operations has been to partner with their stars as stakeholders in the process.
Davis’ desire to spend more time at power forward was heard. (In addition to Wood, L.A. also signed 7-footer Jaxson Hayes.)
(…)
Wood could become a steal coming off a season in which he averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 37.6% from 3 with the Dallas Mavericks. He could use the Lakers’ platform the same way Malik Monk and Schroder did in recent seasons to reestablish value and gain an even bigger role if James or Davis miss any significant time because of injuries.”
Davis has made it loud and clear multiple times that he doesn’t like playing center, and while he’s agreed to do it for the sake of the team, you don’t have to have an unhappy superstar for long.