Things have not gone smoothly for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2021-22 NBA season. They are 12-11 and based on some projections, they are lucky to even be at the .500 mark this campaign.
Los Angeles has been unable to build any consistency on either end of the court as they are ranked 24th in offensive rating and 19th in defensive rating according to Basketball-Reference. While neither is particularly good, the offensive rating is a little easier to understand since they have played so much time this season without LeBron James.
LeBron James has played in only 11 of the team’s 23 games thus far this season. Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk are the only three players to appear in all 23 games, so building continuity and chemistry has been difficult.
What is most concerning about the Lakers’ performance has been their performance defensively. After ranking first in defensive rating last season, the Lakers are ranked 19th this season.
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There is only a difference of 1.7 from last season to this season, but Los Angeles is certainly not getting after it as much defensively this season or during their run to the championship in the Orlando Bubble.
If the Lakers identify the center position as an area they need to make some changes, one player they could look into acquiring is Mo Bamba from the Orlando Magic. Bamba is having a breakout season for the Magic and a one-for-one swap could work out for both teams should they negotiate a deal with each other.
The Lakers could trade forward Talen Horton-Tucker to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Bamba as one option. Horton-Tucker is someone the Lakers are very high on, so they would have to be convinced that Bamba is their center of the future if they are going to part ways with Horton-Tucker for him.
Just turning 21-years old, Horton-Tucker is oozing with potential. Los Angeles would not include him in deals at the trade deadline for players such as Kyle Lowry, so it is hard to envision them including him in a deal for a player as unproven in the long run as Bamba. But, Bamba does have a high ceiling of his own.
Bamba has the Unicorn skillset that teams are looking for from their centers, as he is looking more confident on the perimeter shooting 3-pointers. His improvements as a free throw shooter provide some confidence he can continue developing as a 3-point shooter.
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To go along with that, Mo Bamba is averaging 2.2 blocks per game this season. He has averaged 1.4 despite playing only 17 minutes per game, so he can be a legitimate difference-maker as a rim protector.
Combining him with Anthony Davis as a long-term frontcourt is something that could intrigue the Los Angeles Lakers. They could combine to be the best defensive frontcourt in the NBA while helping provide the Lakers with a very modern attack offensively.
