The Los Angeles Lakers have their new center.
The Lakers struck a deal to sign free agent center Alex Len on Tuesday afternoon, the team announced. Len was initially going to sign with the Pacers, but he reversed course after the Lakers’ trade for Mark Williams fell through in recent days.
Len will now provide the Lakers with some much-needed depth at the position. The team traded Anthony Davis for Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić ahead of the deadline, which left them with a big gap down low. Jaxson Hayes is the team’s only other center on their roster. The Lakers are waiving Christian Wood to make room for Len.
The Lakers attempted to bring in Williams at the deadline, too. They struck a deal to send rookie Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish, along with a pair of draft picks, for Williams. That deal, however, was rescinded on Saturday after Williams failed to pass the Lakers’ physical.
Williams has missed nearly 60% of possible games due to various injuries during his three seasons with the Hornets, and he’s played in just 23 games this season while dealing with a foot injury. It’s unclear why Williams failed the physical, but it reportedly showed multiple issues. The Hornets are now working to dispute that failed physical.
Len has averaged 1.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in roughly seven minutes per game this season with the Sacramento Kings. The 31-year-old was traded to the Washington Wizards earlier this month, but was then waived. That paved the way for him to sign elsewhere.
While Williams would have been a better get, and a better lob threat with Dončić, Len will undoubtedly provide the Lakers with significant size down low so they don’t have to rely on small-ball tactics for the rest of the season. The Lakers rolled over the Utah Jazz in Dončić’s debut on Monday night, which marked their sixth straight win and pushed them to 32-19 on the year. They will take on the Jazz again on Wednesday night in their final game before the All-Star break.
