6 big men the Lakers should pair Luka Doncic with before the NBA trade deadline

After pulling off one of the most shocking trades in NBA history to land Luka Doncic, the Lakers now need to find a big man to pair alongside him.

Los Angeles traded Anthony Davis to land Doncic, which means they do not exactly have a starting-caliber big man on the roster beyond perhaps Jaxson Hayes. Here is what Rob Pelinka said about that during the Doncic introductory press conference:

“We know that our roster has continued work to do to become complete … We know we have a need for a big. The market for bigs right now leading into the last two or three days of the trade deadline is very dry. There is just not a lot available. So maybe we’ll be able to do some stuff around the margins. But in terms of a big move for that position, it is probably more realistic that would be something that comes in the offseason.”

According to Pelinka, however, Doncic will play a huge role in how they build their roster. That includes what they are looking for in their new big man to replace Davis. `

When asked about what the Lakers are looking for at the position, Pelinka mentioned versatility and mobility and competitiveness. However, he also mentioned perhaps the most important detail.

“A vertical lob threat. I think that is a key to the spacing that Luka likes to play with,” Pelinka said. “Those players are hard to find.”

During a recent TV segment, Dave McMenamin echoed a similar sentiment (via ESPN):

“Part of the reason why Luka was so effective last year in leading the Mavericks to the NBA Finals was having  Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford, who who he could have lob threat to at the rim. Those guys stayed in Dallas. They didn’t come to L.A. with Luka. But the Lakers will be looking to find a player with a similar skill set as we reach toward Thursday’s trade deadline.”

Some of the names that McMenamin mentioned include Utah’s Walker Kessler, Portland’s Robert Williams III, and Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl.

But it is unclear if any of them are actually available to Los Angeles. Additionally, per The Athletic, many of the most prominent names on the market do not “appeal” to them right now.

“If there is not a championship big on the market right now, I can’t wave a wand and create that opportunity,” Pelinka said.

Perhaps none of the following names are the title-contending center that Los Angeles will need. But it is more than clear that this is a franchise looking for a lob threat.

So using data via NBA.com, per 36 minutes, we looked at the players who are currently the most prolific alley-oop finishers in the league. We excluded some of the players who fit this description (Miami’s Kel’el Ware, Detroit’s Jalen Duren, and Charlotte’s Mark Williams) who are likely not available via trade.

Lively (1.36) and Gafford (1.07) both rank near the top, so here are some other names who are potentially available and could play a similar role in Los Angeles.