There were two trades made on Monday night, just hours before the start of the NBA draft. The big one involved Giannis Antetokounmpo finally getting moved by the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez, Kasparas Jakucionis and draft compensation.
In another move, the Minnesota Timberwolves shipped Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets. This deal also involved the Chicago Bulls, who will be receiving center Nic Claxton from Brooklyn. Claxton had been linked to the Lakers for the past couple of years as someone they could pursue in order to upgrade at the 5 spot.
Claxton, 27, seems to fit the mold of the defensive-minded center Los Angeles wants and needs. He is fairly athletic and has always been a good rebounder and capable rim-protector, and he is 6-foot-11 with a wingspan of at least 7-foot-2.
He averaged 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 blocks in 27.8 minutes a game this season, and his rebounding and shot-blocking numbers dropped from the peak he reached two or three years ago. He will now be joining a young Bulls squad that includes Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis.
Meanwhile, the Lakers will likely be aggressive in looking to add another athletic, rim-running defensive center to their roster in the coming weeks. They have been linked to men such as Walker Kessler, Jalen Duren, Mitchell Robinson and Robert Williams III in free agency.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: A potential Lakers center target is apparently off the table
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
