Lakers need length post-AD era

The Lakers’ problem is easy to describe and hard to solve. They still have star power. They still have shot creation. But they do not have the one thing Anthony Davis used to give them every night — a back-line defender who made bad perimeter defense survivable. That gap looks even bigger now, with Oklahoma City up 2-0 in the second round and Chet Holmgren punishing Los Angeles on both ends. ### Why does AD matter so much here? Davis was never just a box-score big. He was the cleanup system. Guards could get beat, wings could miss a rotation, and Davis could still erase the play at the rim or blow up the possession by making drivers hesitate. Since the Lakers moved on from him — and Davis himself was later flipped from Dallas to Washington in February — that layer of protection has disappeared. (espn.com) ### What do the Lakers actually have now? They have a roster that makes more sense on offense than on defense. Austin Reaves, Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart are all real rotation players, but they are perimeter pieces. The current roster also includes Deandre Ayton, Jaxson Hayes, Maxi Kleber and Jarred Vanderbilt, plus rookie Adou Thiero. That is a lot of bodies. It is not the same as having one long, elite rim deterrent who bends the geometry of the floor. (espn.com) ### Why is this showing up so clearly against OKC? Because Oklahoma City stresses exactly the weak spot the Lakers are trying to patch over. Holmgren is averaging 23 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in the series, and the Thunder are getting downhill without seeing the kind of interior fear factor Davis used to create. Game 2 ended 125-107, and the film basically screams the same thing over and over — the Lakers can compete on the perimeter for stretches, but they do not consistently finish possessions with size. (pdfroster.nba.com) ### Didn’t they draft for this already? Sort of — but not in the cleanest way. The Lakers traded up to No. 36 in the 2025 draft to take Adou Thiero, a 6-foot-6 Arkansas forward they liked for his athleticism, defense and developmental upside. So the “missed chance” framing is a little off. They did make the Thiero bet. The catch is that Thiero is a wing-forward project, not an instant Davis replacement and not a true center-sized rim protector. (nba.com) ### Why not just play smaller and outscore teams? Because playoff basketball keeps dragging you back to the same question — who protects the rim when the first defender loses? The Lakers got through Houston in six games, but the second round has been less forgiving. Smaller lineups can juice spacing and ballhandling, but they also raise the tax on every defensive mistake. Against a team with Holmgren’s length and OKC’s pace, that tax gets expensive fast. (nba.com) ### So what does this mean for the offseason? It pushes the Lakers toward size-first decisions. ESPN had already framed February’s quiet trade deadline as a setup for a much louder summer, with three tradeable first-round picks and projected cap space. That matters because the need is now obvious: they do not just need another good player, they need a specific type of player — length, rim protection, and someone who lets the rest of the defense breathe. (nba.com) ### Is this just about center? Not only center. It is about scale. A rangy forward can help. A switchable big can help. Another Davis is not walking through the door — basically nobody has that package. But the Lakers do need more players who make the court feel smaller for the other team. Right now, too many of their best pieces make the court feel bigger. ### Bottom line The post-AD Lakers are not talent-poor. They are size-poor in the exact place playoff defenses break first. (espn.com) That is why “get longer” has gone from fan complaint to front-office priority.