Lakers 2024-25 season player grades: Alex Len
Lakers 2024-25 season player grades: Alex Len
The massive Luka Doncic trade on Feb. 1 created a massive hole at the center position for the Los Angeles Lakers, as it sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers were already thin at that spot outside of Davis, and after the deal was made, they badly needed help there.
They agreed to send rookie Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, a 2031 first-round draft pick and a future first-round pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams, a promising young center. But that trade was rescinded a few days later when Williams failed his physical.
On Feb. 11, the Lakers signed veteran big man Alex Len from the buyout market in an attempt to plug their hole at the center position. Not a whole lot was expected from him, but they ended up getting even less from him.
Alex Len's season stats
In 10 games with the Lakers, Len averaged 2.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.3 blocks in 12.2 minutes a game. Overall, he had averages of 1.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.5 blocks in 8.3 minutes a game for the season.
Overall analysis
When the Lakers signed Len, there was some hope that he could at least be an innings-eater and be somewhat serviceable for about 15 minutes or so a game. In the past, the 31-year-old had been the type of player who could provide solid rebounding and defense for roughly 20 minutes a game while finishing strong near the rim. But his abilities had significantly diminished over the last few years.
In his first game with Los Angeles, he played 22 minutes and grabbed seven rebounds while adding four points, two assists and one block. But from that point on, his playing time was sporadic, and there were many games during which he never got off the bench.
Defensively, he just didn't cut it, and he wasn't the type of rim-runner or lob threat L.A. needed offensively.
In the team's five-game loss in the NBA playoffs to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Len appeared in two games for a grand total of three minutes and 40 seconds. During that time, he grabbed four rebounds but made no other statistical contributions.
Len's contract situation
Since Len was only signed for the remainder of the season, he will become a free agent this summer. It is hard to imagine the Lakers bringing him back, especially given how rapidly he fell out of head coach JJ Redick's rotation. In fact, it could be argued he was never in that rotation to begin with.
Overall season grade: D-minus
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
27 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals Game 1 Draws Lowest Audience in Nearly 40 Years
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entering the 2025 NBA Finals, one of the biggest debates around the series was how the ratings would play out. With both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers being small-market teams, many wondered whether fans would be tuning in. More NBA news: Thunder Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Speaks Out Following NBA Finals Game 1 Collapse Game 1 between the two teams was electric, but the fears of the NBA did play out. According to Sports Media Watch, Game 1 of the NBA Finals generated the lowest audience since 1988, excluding the 2020 and 2021 series, which were impacted by COVID-19. The game reportedly averaged a 4.7 rating and 8.91 million viewers on ABC. This is far lower than Game 1 of last season between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, which drew in around 11 million viewers on average. OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 05: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers scores a basket with .3 seconds remaining during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the 2025... OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 05: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers scores a basket with .3 seconds remaining during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 05, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. More Photo byBut there is one saving grace for the league. With the game being close at the end, the NBA Finals peaked around 11 million viewers to witness the game-winning shot by Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. The NBA also reports that Game 1 generated nearly three times more viewers than any other network. Additionally, the game registered more than 500 million views on social media, which is an all-time record. 🏀 Indiana's Game 1 victory over Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals on ABC peaked with 11 million viewers at the end of the 4th quarter when Tyrese Haliburton hit the game-winning shot. 🏀 Game 1 averaged nearly 3 times more viewers than the next most-watched program on any other... — NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 7, 2025 It seems that more people were tuning in online, rather than actually watching the game. This could be part of the new digital era, or people simply not wanting to pay for all the different streaming services to watch games. This could either help set up more excitement for the next game, or it could just be a spur-of-the-moment situation for the NBA. Either way, the league could be in trouble if ratings continue to be low throughout this series. More NBA news: Shaquille O'Neal Shares Harsh Criticism for Thunder After NBA Finals Loss But with two tiny markets in the NBA and no established stars in the series, things could be tough for the league. Haliburton and Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are superstars in the NBA, but neither one of them is established enough to draw in an audience of casual fans. Entering the series, many believed that Oklahoma City would dominate the Pacers. But Indiana showed some tricks up its sleeve, and that could help generate more interest as the series goes forward. More NBA news: Knicks and Former MVP Have 'Mutual Interest' Amid Trade Rumors: Report Kevin Durant Trade Speculation Will Reportedly Get Aggressive in Coming Weeks Clippers Seen as Sleeper Team to Land Former NBA MVP: Report For more on Pacers, Thunder, and general NBA news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Report: Growing 'skepticism' Giannis Antetokounmpo will request a trade
While teams from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between — as well as north into Canada — have mapped out their strategies for a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market, those plans increasingly look like they will be DOA. The Antetokounmpo trade market is very quiet and teams are increasingly coming to the idea he is not going to hit the open market, something Jake Fischer talked about at Bleacher Report: Advertisement "Around the combine two weeks ago, two and a half weeks ago, there was no shortage of optimism, of hope, of excitement from other teams that they were going to be able to potentially make an offer to get Giannis Antetokounmpo into their franchise, into their building. Of late, I'd say that that confidence has been replaced with skepticism. To a man, from talking to agents, team executives, whoever, there is not a lot of belief right now at this juncture... the expectation is that they're going to believe it when they see it — that someone who has valued being the franchise face, that the central linchpin of the Bucks franchise, is going to want to play somewhere else." One league source echoed that, telling NBC Sports that his team was in "wait and see" mode. Fischer said that whatever decision Antetokounmpo and the Bucks make, it will likely be made close to the draft. Another possibility is that there will be no bidding war, that Antetokounmpo will inform the Bucks that they can only trade him to one or two teams. If a fair deal is not found, then it will end there, and he will stay in Milwaukee. The decision to stay or go ultimately falls to Antetokounmpo, who loves Milwaukee, his family is happy there, and he cherishes the idea of being a one-team player for his entire career, but also realizes that in the wake of Damian Lillard's Achilles injury the Bucks are not going to contend for a title next season. He has to decide what matters most to him at this stage of his career. Advertisement The other challenge Antetokounmpo faces is that the grass is not always greener elsewhere. He could be traded to a team such as Houston or San Antonio and make them instant title contenders, but would then moved to a stacked Western Conference with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 68-win Thunder, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, Antony Edwards and the Timberwolves, LeBron James and Luka Doncic with the Lakers, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler with the Warriors, and on down the line. Even with Antetokounmpo, it would be tough to reach the Finals out of the West. He could demand to stay in the East, but with what the Bucks will ask in return, a trade to any team in that conference — New York, Toronto, Miami, Cleveland, wherever — strips that roster so far down of talent that he is in the same situation he is in Milwaukee (a top-three MVP season got the Bucks the five seed and a first-round playoff exit). Whatever decision is coming, don't expect it to come anytime soon.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cade Cunningham Tops NBA List With Other Elite Young Players
Cade Cunningham Tops NBA List With Other Elite Young Players originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Detroit Pistons are perhaps the most exciting young team in the NBA, and it's all thanks to Cade Cunningham. He broke out as a first-time All-Star this season and made the All-NBA team, and it's expected that he will lead the Pistons deep into the playoffs next season. Advertisement In the NBA, there is a clear hierarchy of young guards. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic, both MVP frontrunners, lead the way, although Cunningham is ahead of some players who looked to be better than him earlier in their careers. Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham© Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Lou Williams, after winning three Sixth Man of the Year Awards, knows talent when he sees it, and he thinks Cunningham will have a better career than Paolo Banchero and LaMelo Ball. "I got Cade still having the highest ceiling, Paolo was right there, and then I got to cut LaMelo Ball as having the highest ceiling," listed Lou Williams. "This was a tough one. All of these guys still got a lot of basketball to be played, a lot of things to accomplish in their careers. But for the most part, I feel like I got a good sense of where LaMelo Ball is in his career and what type of player that he's going to be. We're still writing a book on these other two guys. So I'm going to start Cade. I'm going to bench Paolo. And I'm going to have to cut LaMelo." Advertisement Both Banchero and Cunningham have led their teams to the playoffs, and both have given a higher seed some trouble. Ball, on the other hand, struggles to command his team and stay on the court. All three stars play in the East, although as the years tick by, the conference will likely run through Detroit and Orlando, once again passing Charlotte over. Check out the All Pistons homepage for more news, analysis, and must-read articles. Related: Pistons' JB Bickerstaff Reveals What NBA Coaches Have To Do To Not Be Fired Related: Detroit Pistons To Test Free Agent Waters With Two Elite Centers This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
