Instant grades of Lakers’ signing Alex Len: Los Angeles plugs hole at center
The Lakers got their new big man…
After sacrificing Anthony Davis to secure the heist of the century in Luka Doncic and having the Mark Williams trade rescinded due to the Charlotte Hornets failing to meet a condition of the deal, the Los Angeles Lakers were left pretty thin at the center position. Their latest move attempts to address that need.
After some speculation about the two sides coming together on a deal, ESPN insider Shams Charania confirmed that Alex Len will indeed be signing with the Lakers.
To Charania’s point in the tweet above, when Williams was no longer bound for Los Angeles, a gaping vacancy was created. After being waived by the Washington Wizards, Len’s original plan was to join the Indiana Pacers.
However, with less bodies to compete with on the depth chart, Los Angeles provided an opportunity for the Ukrainian big man to see rotational minutes. Charania later confirmed that the Lakers will be waiving often-injured Christian Wood to make space for Len on the roster.
Grading the newest addition to the purple and gold
The Lakers’ need was obvious here. Jaxson Hayes was the only reliable source of true center minutes on the roster.
Len certainly is no world-beater. The 12-year veteran spent most of the 2024-25 NBA season playing occassional minutes for the Sacramento Kings, where he averaged 1.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks per game in 7.2 minutes a night.
The optimist will look at the per 36 minutes and say that equates to 7.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks when adjusted. His brief minutes of playing time did equate to a positive box plus/minus of +0.2, shining on the defensive end in particular with +2.4 defensive box plus/minus.
However, as far as impactful signings go, this just is not one of them. Len can be turned to in situational matchups to throw a bigger body at an imposing interior threat. That is probably the extent of the time on the court he will see, in the long term.
The Lakers are better off leaning into the small-ball formula that worked extremely well against the Utah Jazz in Doncic’s debut on Monday. Some will question how that formula holds up against large front lines, but that point omits the imposing size they faced against Walker Kessler, Lauri Markkanen, and John Collins.
Len will be a nice option to have, if needed. However, it is unlikely to really go much further than that. The NBA veteran certainly called his shot here, though.
