Before the Los Angeles Lakers waived disappointing third-year wing Dalton Knecht on Monday, they were trying to unload him in a trade and get some value back for him. But they couldn't find a taker before the NBA's deadline on Monday afternoon for teams to trim their rosters to 15 players, a deadline that resulted in them releasing Knecht.
Last weekend, a report by insider Jake Fischer indicated that Los Angeles had talked to the Milwaukee Bucks about swapping Knecht for center Jericho Sims. L.A. does need another backup center behind starter Walker Kessler, and Sims could've been a decent option, if not an ideal one.
But Fischer wrote in a newsletter on Saturday that the Bucks were asking for two second-round draft picks in addition to Knecht, which was too high a price for L.A.
"There were indeed talks with the Lakers about a swap headlined by Dalton Knecht and Jericho Sims, as The Stein Line first revealed on Oct. 15, but sources say those discussions were derailed by Milwaukee’s intent to extract two future second-round picks in the deal and the Lakers’ insistence that they part with only one in exchange for Sims."
Sims hasn't played much in two games to start this season, but in the past, he has been a good rebounder and defender, as well as a lob threat. He has career averages of 3.1 points on 74.2% field-goal shooting and 4.3 rebounds in 15.1 minutes a game, and he's in his sixth season after being a second-round draft pick in 2021.
The Lakers don't necessarily need a lot from a backup center. At a minimum, they need someone who can play 10-15 minutes a game and has a high motor, is defensive-minded, boxes out hard and runs the floor in transition offense.
Kevon Looney, the one true backup 5 currently on their roster, fit that description as recently as a couple of years ago, and while he can still help on the boards, the consensus is that his best days are firmly behind him, even though he's just 30 years of age.
This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: The high price the Bucks were asking of the Lakers for Jericho Sims