The Los Angeles Lakers seem to be OK, if not content, with their current roster as they wait for the new NBA season to start. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t jump at an opportunity to improve their personnel if such an opportunity becomes available.
As of now, their second-string center is Jaxson Hayes, a bouncy center who can be a lob threat and somewhat protect the rim, but is otherwise very limited in his abilities. An upgrade at backup center would help, especially since Deandre Ayton, their new starting 5, has a reputation for not playing defense and not always playing with effort and intensity.
It has been reported that veteran big man Kevin Love is looking for his contract to be bought out by the Utah Jazz. He was recently traded there by the Miami Heat, and the 36-year-old doesn’t exactly fit the timeline of the rebuilding Jazz.
NBA insider Jake Fischer recently wrote that if Love’s contract does get bought out, he could look to relocate to New York or Los Angeles. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints took it a step further by writing that Love specifically wants to be in L.A.
“Word around the league surrounding Love is that he wants to end up in Los Angeles, sources said,” Siegel wrote.
Love is almost at the end of his career and can only play in limited spurts at this point. During the 2024-25 season, he averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes a game, and while he remains a reliable 3-point shooter, he doesn’t have a lot to offer on the defensive end of the court.
If Love and the Lakers were to have mutual interest, the latter would have to do some maneuvering, as Siegel pointed out.
“Both the [Los Angeles] Clippers and Lakers still have one open roster spot,” Siegel noted. “But if the Lakers were to pursue Love and reunite him with LeBron [James], they would need to move off another contract since they are hard-capped at the first apron and just $1.1 million from this mark.”
Love was born in Santa Monica, Calif. and played one season of college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles. He, of course, was a teammate of James for four seasons when the two played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and during that time, the Cavs went to the NBA Finals each season while winning the championship in 2016.