Anthony Davis believes the Los Angeles Lakers are close to being a title contender but need a few more pieces. One of those additions, he hopes, will be a center before the trade deadline on Feb. 6.
“I think we need another big,” Davis told ESPN’s Shams Charania this week. “I feel like I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been the 4, having a big out there.”
Davis and LeBron James have both said they want the Lakers to make moves to become title contenders. The Lakers, with a 24-18 record after their 117-96 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday, are only 1½ games ahead of the seventh-place Dallas Mavericks for a guaranteed playoff spot. James mentioned after Sunday night’s heavy loss to the LA Clippers that the team doesn’t have “room for error” with the current roster.
“We have to play perfect basketball,” James said after the defeat.
The Lakers won the championship in 2020 with what Davis called “the perfect construction” of a team. He mentioned that in addition to strong shooters and defensive players, the team’s size was a key factor, which allowed him to play his natural position of power forward.
“We know it worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I’m at the 4,” he told Charania.
Davis is leading the Lakers this season with 25.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, numbers similar to his 2020 championship season, where he averaged 26.1 points and 9.3 rebounds. However, the Lakers have only had significant minutes from one true center, 7-footer Jaxson Hayes, who is averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 20 games.
Davis hopes the Lakers will address this issue in the next couple of weeks.
“We feel like we are right there, you know, as far as the team and everything like that,” Davis said. “[James] and I are like very, very motivated to win another championship.”
