How the Lakers Can Fix Their Center Position This Offseason

The Los Angeles Lakers had a really good regular season.

They finished 53-29, claimed the Pacific Division title and knocked out the Houston Rockets in six first-round games.

Heading into the conference semifinals against Oklahoma City without Luka Doncic, who was nursing a hamstring strain, the expectations were still high.

But the Thunder swept them in four straight, and how quickly things fell apart exposed a real weakness at the center position that the front office needs to address this summer.

Deandre Ayton's regular season numbers were fine on the surface.

He played in 72 games for the Lakers and was steady for most of the year, averaging 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 67.1% shooting from the floor.

But the postseason was a completely different story.

He dropped to just 10.0 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting with a 55.7 true shooting percentage against the Thunder, and in the Game 4 closeout he scored only six points in 21 minutes while the season slipped away.

For a former first overall pick, disappearing like that on the biggest stage is tough to overlook.

The Lakers needed a whole lot more from their starting center in that moment, and they just didn't get it.

If there was a bright spot at center during the postseason, it was Jaxson Hayes coming off the bench.

Hayes is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the Lakers should work to bring him back.

He put up 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds on 75.6% shooting during the regular season as the backup, and he was actually the better center on the floor when it counted most.

His 18-point performance in the Game 4 loss showed exactly why the Lakers should keep him around.

At 26, he's not a franchise center by any stretch, but he's a high-energy rim-runner who finishes at an elite clip and would be a great complement behind a new starting five.

Finding that starter is the tricky part.

Walker Kessler is a restricted free agent out of Utah who was averaging 14.4 points and 10.8 rebounds before a torn labrum ended his season early, and at just 24 he brings the defensive presence and rebounding the Lakers are missing.

Jalen Duren from Detroit is another young restricted free agent worth watching after putting together a strong year, and Isaiah Hartenstein could become available if the Thunder decline his $28.5 million team option.

The Lakers have cap flexibility, draft capital to work with, and the 25th pick in the upcoming draft to explore.

A 53-win team that got swept in the second round deserved a longer run, and fixing the center spot is how the Lakers make sure it doesn't end the same way again.