{"id":717342,"date":"2026-04-25T00:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T00:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/717342\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T00:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T00:23:10","slug":"lakers-could-pursue-one-king-hard-this-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/717342\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers could pursue one King hard this offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unlike the Sacramento Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers are in the playoffs and are currently leading the Houston Rockets in their series. But the Lakers’ weakness at center is on full display in the postseason, and the answer to their problems could be Kings’ standout rookie Dylan Cardwell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Luka Doncic trade remains one of the most befuddling moves in the history of sports. Dallas sent a generational talent to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, who they traded to Washington less than a year later. If it wasn’t for drafting Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks would have been cooked.<\/p>\n

For the Lakers, acquiring Doncic answered the question about what to do with the franchise after LeBron James is done. Add emerging superstar Austin Reaves<\/a> into that equation, and Los Angeles is in a good place for the next decade. Well, they would be if it wasn’t for one big problem.<\/p>\n

Losing Davis left a huge hole that has yet to be filled at center. In particular, the Lakers are desparately missing his rim protection. When Davis is healthy, he’s one of the best in the business. And Deandre Ayton is a poor substitute for defender the caliber of Davis.<\/p>\n

The Lakers are coming for the Kings and Dylan Cardwell<\/p>\n

Los Angeles might be able to draft their way out of this problem in June, but it’s a longshot at best. The Lakers have one first round pick at #25 and no second round picks. It’s a deep talent pool in this year’s draft, but there’s no guarantee the right center will be available when the Laker’s get called on.<\/p>\n

The most likely move for Los Angeles is to trade for a new big man, and the Kings have a couple of good ones in Dylan Cardwell and Maxime Raynaud. Being that Lakers already have big time scorers, what they need now is a big time defender. That would be Cardwell.<\/p>\n

He has quickly proven himself to be a dangerous lob threat, a tenacious rebounder, and an elite rim protector. Plus, Cardwell has a great attitude and is only 24-years-old. He has a lot of time to grow, not to mention a massive ceiling to work with. He’s exactly who the Lakers are looking for.<\/p>\n

Keeping that in mind, the likelihood of the Kings being willing to trade a key part of their rebuild core away is almost non-existent. The only thing that would get them to move would be a conversation that also includes Los Angeles also taking Zach LaVine or Domantas Sabonis off their hands.<\/p>\n

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