The Los Angeles Lakers will regret signing former Phoenix Suns center.
The NBA trade deadline is now remembered as one of the wildest in league history, with much more going on than just Luka Doncic and De’Aaron Fox changing teams. One often overlooked part of the final days was the center shake-up that several teams, including the Phoenix Suns, tried to execute.
The Suns decided to move on from Jusuf Nurkic, at the high cost of a first-round pick, and added the athletic but limited Nick Richards to their squad before finalizing that trade. Both deals involved the Charlotte Hornets, who also traded their starting big, Mark Williams, to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, that trade was rescinded, and we haven’t heard the last of it.
This opened the door for a former Suns lottery pick to head to L.A. Alex Len, selected fifth overall by Phoenix in 2013, failed to meet expectations during his five seasons with the Suns. Since then, he’s bounced around the league as a backup big man with a large frame, though lasting over a decade in the NBA is a notable achievement for the Ukrainian.
Once the Williams deal was reversed, the Lakers were left without a true big man on their roster after trading Anthony Davis for Doncic. Recognizing the need to fill that gap, they waived Christian Wood and brought Len in as a free agent, who had most recently played for the Sacramento Kings.
However, in a recent game against the Utah Jazz, Len reminded everyone why he has been nothing more than an average backup throughout his career. The Lakers lost to a team that had only won 12 games all season, with Len playing 22 minutes.
While the loss wasn’t entirely his fault, his presence on the roster shows why his potential return to Phoenix wouldn’t have worked either. Len shares some similarities with the recently traded Nurkic, and not the good kind. In the right system, he can be a useful presence in the paint, getting easy baskets around star players.
This is similar to what Nurkic provided under former Suns head coach Frank Vogel, where defensive schemes masked his weaknesses, allowing him to have effective games. But this season, under Mike Budenholzer, who wanted more offensively from Nurkic without providing the same defensive support, Nurkic struggled badly.
And that’s exactly what will happen to Len in Los Angeles. As amazing as LeBron and Doncic are, they aren’t going to defend at an elite level every night. Allowing 131 points to a team that has already lost 40 games this season is proof of that, with Len often left exposed on multiple possessions.
The Lakers needed to make this move, just as the Suns had to acquire Richards, though he is clearly the better player of the two. But this situation underscores how being over the second apron can have long-term negative consequences throughout the season. Fortunately for the Suns, the Lakers will be the ones to face this realization, not them.