{"id":666013,"date":"2026-05-26T12:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/666013\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T12:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T12:49:11","slug":"a-borderline-indispensable-luxury-lakers-predicted-to-pursue-87000000-center-to-upgrade-frontcourt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/666013\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2019A Borderline Indispensable Luxury\u2019 \u2014 Lakers Predicted to Pursue $87,000,000 Center to Upgrade Frontcourt"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 Deandre Ayton<\/a> experiment proved to be a misfire, as the 2018 No. 1 pick\u2019s defensive lapses and all-around questionable effort routinely drew the ire of fans in his first season with the Purple and Gold.<\/p>\n

However, according to The Ringer\u2019s Michael Pina, LA could be \u201cin the mix\u201d to poach a versatile starting center from one of its top Western Conference counterparts.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Lakers Anticipated To Target Isaiah Hartenstein<\/a> if Thunder Cut Costs<\/p>\n

After getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> in the second round of the 2026 NBA playoffs in the absence of Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> (hamstring), the Lakers enter the offseason in dire need of frontcourt and defensive reinforcements.<\/p>\n

Despite winning 53 games, they finished the regular season ranked 20th in defensive rating (115.5), 27th in rebounds per game (41.0), and 22nd in nightly blocks (4.3).<\/p>\n

LA\u2019s defensive shortcomings were amplified against OKC, as it appeared helpless trying to contain the defending champions\u2019 overwhelming depth, with Ayton serving as a relative non-factor on both ends.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

While Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s availability may have made the series more competitive, the Lakers likely still need a bona fide interior presence to challenge the West\u2019s powerhouses. Pina believes LA general manager Rob Pelinka could land one while simultaneously weakening the Thunder by targeting eighth-year center Isaiah Hartenstein, should OKC cut costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll also be in the mix if and when the next center I want to talk about becomes available. Hartenstein holds a $28 million team option on his contract, and the Thunder are about to be saddled with a luxury tax bill that rivals the GDP of a Caribbean island,\u201d Pina wrote<\/a> in his Monday piece titled, \u201cWemby<\/a> Has Forced the Thunder Into an Identity Crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds crazy for a roster this deep and talented, but Hartenstein might be their second-most essential player. He ranks second overall in defensive daily plus-minus and has a damn near singular ability to rebound, pass, and shoot roughly 135 percent on that signature push shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake all that away, and the defending champs are vulnerable against any team that can flex in the paint. (Among them out West are the San Antonio Spurs<\/a>, Denver Nuggets<\/a>, Houston Rockets<\/a>, and Utah Jazz.)\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

MORE: \u2018There Is a Pathway\u2019 \u2014 Lakers Insider Reveals How LA Could Add Giannis Antetokounmpo Alongside Its Big 3<\/a><\/p>\n

After praising Hartenstein\u2019s immense two-way impact, Pina continued to gush over his playmaking chops for a 7-footer before outlining how the Thunder could seek to retain the 28-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many centers not named Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a> are better playmakers from the high post or are able to make a quick decision out of the pocket? The guy is a certifiable hub,\u201d Pina added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a borderline indispensable luxury. But is Hartenstein as good as gone? Or will Sam Presti get creative by, say, declining Lu Dort<\/a>\u2019s team option and then dumping Aaron Wiggins<\/a> and Isaiah Joe<\/a> so that OKC can duck the second apron without losing its starting center?<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cOr if they become the first team in nearly a decade to repeat as champs, will the Thunder simply bite the bullet and pay an exorbitant tax bill? Odds are that the Thunder will look different next season. If that means Hartenstein is no longer around, the rest of the NBA will be doing backflips to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wrapping up Year 2 of his three-year, $87,000,000 contract, Hartenstein has proven to be a steal for the Thunder since they signed him in 2024 free agency. He also projects to be an ideal player to potentially anchor the Lakers\u2019 frontcourt and make life easier on Don\u010di\u0107 and Co.<\/p>\n

Across 47 appearances in the 2025-26 season, Hartenstein averaged 9.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game, while shooting 62.2%, though the big man\u2019s value stretches far beyond the stat sheet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 Deandre Ayton experiment proved to be a misfire, as the 2018 No. 1 pick\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[119098,6405,291100,17816,1753,32236,359,5050,21976,69879,6306,3014,36781,355,1756,6402,2116,99,114219],"class_list":["post-666013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-aaron-wiggins","tag-deandre-ayton","tag-defensive-lapses","tag-defensive-rating","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-dort","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-houston-rockets","tag-isaiah-hartenstein","tag-isaiah-joe","tag-lakers","tag-luka-doncic","tag-michael-pina","tag-nba","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-sports","tag-wemby"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}