Author: Monojit Mandal
The Los Angeles Lakers are looking for a center to improve their team for next season, and it looks like they have their eye on two people. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the club is exploring Christian Wood and Bismack-Biyombo as possible free agents.
During a recent press conference, Lakers general manager Rob-Pelinka emphasized the importance of developing depth at the center position. “I think sizing up the skills in that position would be important,” said Pelinka. “As a result, we don’t want to hire someone who duplicates the skills of Jaxson Hayes.” So it would be beneficial if we could vary the position and have different points of view.”
According to Buha’s statement, the Lakers want to duplicate their successful strategy from the 2019-2020 season, which relied mainly on powerful big men. They hope that Jaxson Hayes, a 2.1-meter athlete, can complement Anthony Davis in the same way that Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee did during the championship season.
Bismack Biyombo averaged 4.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game for the Phoenix-Suns in 61 games during the 2022-23 season. Christian Wood, on the other hand, was more productive with the Dallas-Mavericks, averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the same season.
An important distinction between these two players is their salary expectations. Biyombo is substantially cheaper than Wood. However, getting depth at the center position is key for the Lakers if they want to make a deeper postseason run in 2023-24.
Christian Marquise Wood is an experienced basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. Wood, who was born on September 27, 1995, in Long Beach (California), played NCAA basketball for the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, before being selected 41st overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Bismack Biyombo Sumba is a Congolese professional basketball player who is currently a member of the NBA’s Phoenix-Suns. Biyombo, who is known for his versatility, can play efficiently inside and outside the paint.