After the Los Angeles Lakers swung out on their attempted trade for Charlotte Hornets big man Mark Williams, they needed a serviceable center — badly. On Feb. 11, they signed veteran center Alex Len off waivers, and the hope was that he would beef up their very weak center rotation.
However, Len played very little and never really cracked head coach JJ Redick’s rotation. He ended up playing in just 10 games in the regular season for Los Angeles, mostly in garbage time, and he averaged 2.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.2 minutes a game with the team.
L.A. didn’t convert the two-way contracts of centers Trey Jemison III or Christian Koloko into standard contracts to make them eligible to play in the playoffs, but Len remained on the roster. General manager Rob Pelinka explained the thinking behind that decision.
Via Lakers Nation:
“Just that we thought Alex was a good player that deserved to be on our roster,” Pelinka said. “And then ultimately JJ is gonna make the decision on who plays and who doesn’t.”
The Lakers’ lack of serviceable centers and frontcourt size was perhaps the biggest reason they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games during the first round of the playoffs. Therefore, landing a starting-caliber 5 is job one for them this offseason.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Rob Pelinka on why Alex Len was on playoff roster
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
