Beat writer on what the Lakers may have to give up in order to trade for Daniel Gafford
There are plenty of mock trades and trades rumors floating around these days that involve the Los Angeles Lakers. Many of them have something to do with the team's dire need for a starting-level center, and one such player they have been linked to is Daniel Gafford of the Dallas Mavericks.
In some ways, Gafford seems like an ideal fit for the Lakers. He has plenty of athleticism, he's young (26 years of age), he can protect the rim, he's a good rebounder and he's a lob threat. He also played for a little while with Luka Doncic, which means that if he were to come to the Lakers, he would already have some built-in chemistry with the Slovenian.
However, after Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison sent Doncic to the Lakers for a low price, the optics of him trading Gafford to the Lakers could be terrible. Jovan Buha, a Lakers beat writer for The Athletic, said on a recent episode of "Buha's Block" that he feels L.A. may have to overpay for Gafford, and he took a guess on what it may take to land the University of Arkansas product (at 9:20).
"They probably have to overpay," Buha said. "It would probably have to be something like … Gabe [Vincent], Dalton [Knecht] and a first (round pick) for Gafford. And that's a lot."
Vincent, Knecht and a future first-round pick is a very similar package compared to the one the Purple and Gold offered for the Charlotte Hornets' Mark Williams before that trade was rescinded. The different was that they offered forward Cam Reddish, a no-impact player who fell out of their rotation, instead of Vincent, and they also offered a 2030 first-round pick swap.
However, the package Buha suggested may be worth it for Gafford. He averaged 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 21.5 minutes a game while shooting 70.2% from the field this season, and if he could play a little more, say 25-28 minutes a game, he could be the answer to the Lakers' center woes.
While Knecht, who had flashes of solid play this year, has potential, it is hard to get a read on what his ceiling is, although his floor may be that of a borderline rotation player. Giving him up may not be too much of a gamble if Los Angeles gets the center it needs in return.
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