3 Centers Better Than ‘Washed’ Alex Len Suggested as Lakers’ Buyout Options

Alex Len of the Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers’ experiment with Alex Len didn’t go well in their first try, as they lost 131-119 to the Utah Jazz, breaking their six-game winning streak.

Len’s final stat line — 4 points on 2-of-5 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block in 22 minutes — didn’t capture the full picture. His stats were padded by garbage time during the Lakers’ blowout loss.

The Lakers were outscored by nine points with Len on the court after Jaxson Hayes suffered a facial injury in the first quarter and didn’t return. Len’s 7-foot, 250-pound frame failed to deter the Jazz players from attacking the rim.

According to NBA matchup tracking data, the Jazz went 7-of-10 against Len’s defense in the paint. Utah’s frontcourt duo, Lauri Markkanen and John Collins, dominated Len’s interior defense with a perfect combined 5-of-5 shooting.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic predicted this before the Lakers officially signed Len.

“If the Lakers end up with Alex Len, I would not feel comfortable starting him if Jaxson Hayes goes down,” Buha said on his podcast, “Buha’s Block” on Feb. 11. “Len is more of a fringe roster player right now. I’m not high on this move. The Lakers could probably find a better big.”

But with the trade deadline passed, the market for big men has dried up, so the Lakers settled on Len.

“I understand the optics if they want to add a big, but I don’t think Len is that guy. He’s pretty much washed at this point, to be honest,” Buha bluntly remarked.

3 Centers the Lakers Should Keep an Eye On The Lakers still have the option to waive one more player to add a center.

Buha mentioned three potential buyout candidates for the Lakers to consider.

“As for what’s next, I think the Lakers need to keep an eye on the center market in case Larry Nance Jr., Kelly Olynyk, or Chris Boucher becomes available,” Buha said. “They should waive another player and bring in one of those big men.”

John Hollinger of The Athletic noted that the Atlanta Hawks may want to keep Nance due to his Bird rights, which could be valuable.

Olynyk, who hasn’t played for the Pelicans since being traded in the Brandon Ingram deal, was a key bench contributor in Toronto, playing 15.6 minutes per game.

Boucher’s expiring contract sparked trade interest, but he stayed with the Raptors beyond the Feb. 6 deadline. Jake Fischer reported on “The Stein Line” on Substack that there had been no talks regarding a Boucher buyout.

The Lakers might be stuck with Len, hoping Hayes recovers fully for the rest of the season.

JJ Redick Offers Len Grace for Being in ‘Tough Spot’ The painful loss in Utah underscored the Lakers’ precarious situation this season, even with LeBron James and Luka Dončić teaming up with their shallow center rotation.

With Hayes sidelined, Len was called upon but couldn’t meet the challenge.

Lakers coach JJ Redick offered Len some understanding, given that he hadn’t had the benefit of practice.

“I thought he was fine,” Redick said of Len after the loss. “There have been a lot of instances this year where we’ve had to put guys in difficult situations. We’ve had to put our two-way players in tough spots, and we had to put Alex in a tough spot. He was fine.”

Len explained that he didn’t know any of the Lakers’ plays.

“It was a crazy 24 hours, just thinking you’re going somewhere, then coming here and getting signed,” Len told reporters. “[I] just tried to stay in the moment and keep things simple.”

Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. With over 15 years of experience in media, including print, broadcast, and digital, he previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is based in Jersey City, New Jersey.