The Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins and New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray, but the one player who’s falling under the radar is Dallas Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford.
Lakers Need Frontcourt Depth For Playoff Run
Adding another guard makes little sense for the Lakers, so general manager Rob Pelinka should be targeting a lob-threat starting center to upgrade the team’s frontcourt size.
The Lakers tried to acquire then-Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams at last season’s deadline to help L.A. fill the hole made by trading away Anthony Davis, but the trade was rescinded after a failed physical.
Finding reliable bigs has been among the team’s primary goals dating back to last season.
“I think when you make a huge trade at the deadline where you trade your starting center for a point guard, of course that’s going to create significant issues with the roster, and we saw some of those play out,” Pelinka said after the 2024-25 season. “We know this offseason, one of our primary goals is going to be to add size in our frontcourt at the center position.”
The Lakers ranked last in the 2025 playoffs in points in the paint and third worst in paint points allowed. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ bench outscored them by more than 16 points per game in that first-round series.
Daniel Gafford Has Played Alongside Doncic
As for this season, Deandre Ayton has been playing just OK with the club, averaging 15.8 points, a career-low 8.6 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 29.4 minutes per game in 18 outings. He’s also shooting a career-best 71.2% from the field.
However, the Lakers should add a player like Gafford for insurance.
Gafford, 27, also has experience playing alongside Doncic. That could make all the difference when matched up with a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs.
In 57 games (31 starts) with the Mavericks last season, Gafford averaged a career-high 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 21.5 minutes per contest while shooting 70.2% from the floor and 68.9% from the foul line.
Per Basketball Reference, Gafford also averaged a career-high usage rate of 19.5%. He finished 10th in blocks (102) and third in offensive rating (137.4) as well.
Entering the season, Gafford’s 71% career field goal percentage was the best in the NBA since he was drafted in 2019 (based on a minimum of 1,000 field goal attempts), per Second Spectrum.
When healthy, Gafford is an elite shot-blocker and a prime lob threat. The issue is that Dallas has been dealing with injuries of its own this season, i.e., Kyrie Irving along with Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II.
It’s unclear whether the Mavs are open to trading Gafford.
