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4 hours ago
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The Los Angeles Lakers have a real chance to poach a star from the Boston Celtics this summer.
Boston is widely expected to cut costs and move on from one or two members of their championship core.
Guys in the greatest danger of being traded are reportedly Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
On Monday, FanSided’s Svyatoslav Rovenchuk made an interesting prediction about a Lakers-Celtics trade.
“The Boston Celtics are expected to shake up the roster this offseason,” Rovenchuk wrote.
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“The Lakers could seize the opportunity to secure a new starting center in the process.”
“Kristaps Porzingis is not a young man … the Celtics center has also been given an opportunity to play with (Luka) Doncic already, unsuccessfully. However, his growth since that experience should allow him a better chance to thrive in a second go-around.”
“(Lakers GM Rob) Pelinka will have the expiring contracts needed to take on Porzingis’ deal this offseason. The move is (certainly) worth considering.”
Rovenchuk’s suggestion is an interesting one, albeit not highly realistic. Pelinka and the Lakers are focused on doing everything in their power to keep Luka happy and build a championship roster around Dončić.
Given that priority, it wouldn’t make sense to bring in a guy in Porzingis with whom Luka has experienced locker room friction in the past during their stint together on the Dallas Mavericks.
Add in Porzingis’s injury history, and the Lakers probably won’t consider KP a target at all this summer. What LA needs is a durable starting center who can be relied upon to play 70-plus games and anchor the Lakers’ defense while also serving as a lob threat on offense.
Porzingis can do those things when he’s healthy, but he rarely is.
If Pelinka actually went after Porzingis, many Lakers fans would see it as a controversial decision, and for good reason.
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