Bismack Biyombo

The Los Angeles Lakers have yet to find their next Shaquille O’Neal or Pau Gasol. This season, they turned the reigns of the center position over to JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard. While both players have split time and have the Lakers ranked 2nd defensively, neither is a long-term solution here.

Howard is not the force that he once was and at the age of 34, he’s not getting any younger. McGee was never starter material but he’s been a valuable contributor throughout his career. This season, Howard and McGee have combined to average 14 points and nine rebounds while making a combined $5.6M.

Adding a player such as Bismack Biyombo will give the Lakers another player who they can plug in and log minutes. On the offensive side, Biyombo is not much of a scorer but he will more than make it for it on the defensive end with hustle and rebounding. This season, while with the Charlotte Hornets, Biyombo averaged just 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while playing just 19.4 minutes per game.

If given starter minutes, Biyombo could be a force in the paint which would allow more freedom for LeBron and Davis to operate. The best part for the Lakers’ front office will be the contract. Biyombo took home $17M for the 2019-20 season but no other team in the league will come close to offering that.