About two and a half months after the NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers still haven’t signed or traded for a single player from another team. It has led to the perception, whether it’s true or not, that no one with any real value wants to play for them these days.
One by one, each of their free agent targets, from Klay Thompson to DeMar DeRozan, said no to them. In fact, Jonas Valanciunas, a center they were reportedly very interested in, rejected them in favor of the Washington Wizards, a team that won just 15 games last season.
With roughly two weeks to go before the start of training camp, however, the Lakers are reportedly the frontrunners to sign center Christian Koloko, who was a second-round pick in 2020.
Koloko, who is seven feet tall and 230 pounds, averaged 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots in 13.8 minutes a game as a rookie. But he missed all of last season, as he was suffering from a serious blood clot issue.
While he grew up in Cameroon, he played his senior season of high school basketball at Sierra Canyon School, the same San Fernando Valley school that Bronny James spent some time at.
The center position is one of the Lakers’ biggest positional weaknesses. While Koloko may not be the answer to that need, he does have a 7-foot-5 wingspan, NBADraft.net called him a “fluid athlete for his size” who “can cover massive ground” and “usually looks to dunk the ball with authority in close.”
It should be mentioned that L.A. currently has a full roster, so if it wants to sign Koloko to a standard contract, it would have to clear a roster spot somehow.
