New Orleans Pelicans big man Karlo Matkovic has been named a potential center target for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Most of the trade talk around the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason has been focus on Trey Murphy III, but he's not the only player that teams around the league are interested in.
The Athletic Los Angeles Lakers insider Dan Woike went over the potential options for center depth this offseason, and Pelicans fan favorite Karlo Matkovic was floated as one of their options. He did, though, mention that New Orleans has not been very open to moving him.
While it's fair to assume that the center at the end of his deal, who played under 15 minutes per night on a 26-win team, wouldn't be too hard to get, this New Orleans front office is hard-headed. Matkovic is someone they like, so it'll be hard to get him. Just not impossible.
Joe Dumars did say that the team will at least consider anything this offseason, though, so the Lakers could at least get a conversation started if they are actually interested in the athletic big.
Matkovic was not a random selection by Woike. There is at least one person in the Los Angeles front office that would like to add him, as Los Angeles hired former Pelicans vice president of strategy Rohan Ramadas.
Ramadas is a great analytics-focused mind who joined New Orleans during Matkovic's rookie year, and is exactly the type of basketball mind that would want someone like Matkovic. A high-flying big who can protect the rim and space the floor.
The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game on 60.4/42.2/73.2 shooting splits. That was on 1.5 threes per game, which is a great volume for what his role is. He actually is extra-important to the Pelicans right now as he's probably the only center who can shoot on the team right now.
While he hasn't had a huge role yet, he's entering just his third NBA season. He plays with a ton of energy, works hard, doesn't complain and can completely change games when he comes off the bench.
Matkovic hasn't been complaining about playing in New Orleans, but it's hard to imagine him not liking the idea of playing with Luka Doncic throwing him passes. The Lakers already added Walker Kessler as their starting center, but the depth behind him in Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelashvili. It's not hard to imagine Matkovic getting more minutes in Los Angeles.
As for the Pelicans, though, they certainly don't need to move him. If they do bring in another center, which is a possibility, then it would make more sense to engage with the Lakers on a Matkovic trade.
