The Los Angeles Lakers brought in veteran center Alex Len to help bolster their frontcourt. Following a rescinded trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, Los Angeles was left without any very good options at the center spot.
Len isn’t the best option but he is serviceable for this team. The veteran can give Los Angeles some strong minutes off the bench and provide a value to the roster.
But according to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Lakers had a chance to bring back a former center to the team. This would have been former big Mo Bamba before they added Len to the roster.
“Bamba could have been a reserve big man that ended up with the Lakers to my understanding. I heard this from multiple sources that if Alex Len did go forward and sign with the Pacers, that Mo Bamba would have been very prominently considered by the Lakers to fill a spot in that depleted center rotation right now with Anthony Davis out the door.”
Many fans would agree that adding Len to the mix over Bamba was the correct move. The Lakers tried the Bamba experiment years ago and it didn’t work out too well for them.
During his time with the Lakers, Bamba averaged 3.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game. The big man was limited to just nine games for the Lakers due to injuries.
Len may not be perfect but he can at least give this Lakers team some nice size and rebounding abilities. The veteran debuted for the Lakers before the All-Star Break and it was a mixed result.
Many fans weren’t happy with his performance but head coach JJ Redick pushed back on that notion.
“I thought he was fine,” Redick said of Len after the loss that snapped their six-game winning streak. “I mean there’s been a lot of that this year when we just like had to put guys in tough spots. We’ve had to put our two-way guys in tough spots, we had to put Alex in a tough spot. He was fine.”
Len finished the game by scoring four points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out two assists, and blocking one shot.
It was a nice start for the big man and he will look to continue building with this team when they get back on the court next week.
