It’s been a quiet offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers as they did not make any significant changes to their roster, only bringing in draft picks Dalton Knecht and Bronny James to replace free agents Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie.
They did make a change at head coach though, bringing in JJ Redick to replace Darvin Ham. And one thing that Redick made clear as soon as he took the job was that the Lakers need to bring in a big, bruising center to help out Anthony Davis.
Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes are both back for another year but neither of them have the size to hang with some of the bigger centers. To make matters worse, Christian Wood recently underwent knee surgery and will miss the start of the season.
That only increased the Lakers’ need to bring in another center, and it appears they finally have done so. The Lakers were reported to be the favorites to land Christian Koloko, and now according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, they have signed him to a deal:
The Lakers and seven-foot center Christian Koloko have agreed on a deal, agent Calvin Andrews of Klutch Sports says. Koloko is expected to have an opportunity for a role in Lakers frontcourt after he receives clearance from league’s fitness panel. https://t.co/QEYw7Or4kR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 14, 2024
Accordingn to Dan Woike of the L.A. Times, Koloko is signing a two-way contract so the Lakers will need to waive one of Colin Castleton, Blake Hinson or Armel Traore:
Koloko is expected to join the Lakers on a two-way contract but the team must release one of the three players it has currently signed to two-way deals. https://t.co/2qNnESDVRL
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) September 14, 2024
Koloko is a former second round pick of the Toronto Raptors in 2022 out of Arizona. He was waived by the Raptors in Jan. 2024 after being put into NBA’s Fitness-to-Play panel due to a career-threatening blood clot issue. Teams weren’t able to sign him until he was medically cleared to play, which now looks to be taking place.
In 58 career NBA games, Koloko has averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in a limited 13.8 minutes per game.
The Cameroon native moved to the Los Angeles area in 2017 and played his high school ball at Birmingham and Sierra Canyon, so this is a bit of a homecoming for seven-footer.
Lakers star Anthony Davis maintains desire to play alongside center
One person who is happy to see the Lakers acquire another big man in Christian Koloko is Anthony Davis as recent reports indicate he maintains a desire to play alongside a center.
Koloko is a rim-protector that would allow Davis to roam, which is when the superstar is at his best defensively.
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