Why A Backup Centre Trade For Goga Bitadze Could Be Tricky For The Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers need a backup centre, and they are reportedly checking the trade market for one. Walker Kessler anchors the middle, but the team has little cover whenever he sits. Orlando Magic big man Goga Bitadze looks like a neat fit on paper, and one proposed deal would cost the Lakers only Jaden Hardy. The problem is not money or basketball. It is Bitadze's heated run-in with Luka Doncic in March, and the bad blood may not have faded.

A Bitadze deal looks easy until Doncic comes up

Moussa Cisse, Jericho Sims and Jalen Smith have all been linked with the Lakers, but Bitadze may suit them best. A trade idea from FadeawayWorld would send Hardy to Orlando for Bitadze. Hardy is already out of the rotation, and his $6 million expiring deal would help the Lakers keep room to add players later. Bitadze earns $7.6 million, and the Lakers are $8.1 million below the first apron.

The history is the sticking point. On March 21, Doncic and Bitadze argued during a Lakers-Magic game and both got technical fouls, which were later rescinded. Doncic said Bitadze threatened his family at the free-throw line. Bitadze denied it. He said Doncic used inappropriate words in Serbian, he repeated them without knowing how they would land, and he respects Doncic's family.

The Athletic's Dan Woike has said the pair would have “some air to clear first.” If Bitadze were available, he added, he could make sense as a target.

PJ Washington would test the Lakers' tax plans

Another name keeps coming up: Dallas forward PJ Washington. He is 6-foot-7, can guard several positions and played next to Doncic in the 2024 Finals run. He is averaging 16 points but shooting 32.3 per cent from three.

Money is the issue. Washington earns $21.4 million, and the Lakers' payroll is around $200 million, with the tax line at $200.4 million. Even if they sent back Jarred Vanderbilt, Hardy and Bronny James, they would still take on salary and need another player to fill the roster. Going over the tax would cost them the $16 million exception they want next summer, either to keep Collin Sexton or to sign a power forward. Sexton has a $10 million option next season and could opt out if he plays well.

One way around it is to include first-round pick Cameron Carr, who earns $3.3 million, along with Vanderbilt and Hardy. Dallas would be more likely to accept that, and it could keep the Lakers under the tax line. That would be a controversial move.