Game 1 of the first-round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves reminded everyone how imperfect the roster surrounding Luka Doncic and LeBron James is. A familiar issue was a key focus of the matchup.
The Timberwolves shot over 50 percent from the field. A big part of that was their sizzling 3-point shooting. The Wolves hit a playoff record for their franchise with 21 made triples. However, the Lakers equally struggled to protect the rim. The usual center conversation is hard to ignore when Jaden McDaniels is openly discussing it with media after the game.
“I just noticed at certain times … when Jaxson Hayes wasn’t on the court … I’m basically the tallest person out there. So, I don’t think no one could really rim protect me,” McDaniels told Jonah Maves and the rest of the reporters.
This series has plenty of time to turn around for the Lakers. On the other hand, if Los Angeles suffers an early exit from the 2025 NBA Playoffs, it will not be long until the focus firmly shifts to the offseason and how the team can confidently plug the hole in the paint.
Lakers pitched to rejuvenate career of Nic Claxton
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wrote an article earlier this month highlighting 10 of the major trade block candidates for this offseason. That writeup also included 10 proposed trades to go with each of those targets.
Buckley connected the Lakers to a trade with the Brooklyn Nets involving Nic Claxton. The deal would go as follows.
Buckey wrote the following as the Nets’ reasoning to do this trade: “Despite the losing, they’re woefully short on young, blue-chip talent. This asset-rich return could help change that, no matter if Brooklyn would view [Dalton] Knecht and the draft picks as keepers or trade chips.”
On the Lakers’ end of the equation, this one is tricky. The reasoning suggested by Buckley for Claxton being a good fit was the paint protection and play finishing that could be provided by the Nets center. That part makes perfect sense. The 26-year-old is exactly the type of big man who would fit extraordinarily well with Doncic too.
However, after the Nets handed Claxton a four-year, $97 million contract in the 2024 offseason, the value needed to match that from the Lakers end is questionable.
The good news is that the two-way center is on a contract that will be declining in value with every upcoming season. The last year of Claxton’s deal would feature him making $20.9 million in the 2027-28 campaign.
The tough sell here is giving up Rui Hachimura as a part of this deal, alongside the already sizable hit of Knecht and draft capital. The Lakers forward is as important of a role player as anyone on this roster.
Claxton, theoretically, ticks a lot of boxes for the Lakers. However, the price tag of Hachimura makes this deal largely undesirable. There are alternative financial routes that the Lakers can explore to complete the addition of the athletic big man, without including their versatile forward, that make this potential deal a much better one for Rob Pelinka and company.
