Lakers Shake Up Roster, Bring in New Center Amid Frontcourt Depth Concerns

The Los Angeles Lakers shuffled the fringes of their roster, moving out center Lawson Lovering, who was taking a two-way spot, in favor of center Carson Cooper.

The Lakers signed Cooper to a two-way contract after he appeared in one game for the Memphis Grizzlies before being waived.

Cooper was on a two-way deal with Memphis, and now he joins the Lakers on the same deal.

He spent four years in college, finishing off his career with a senior year at Michigan State, where he averaged averaging 11.1 points on 58.4% shooting, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks in 26.8 minutes.

Lovering, meanwhile, inked a two-way deal in late October, with the Lakers hoping the big man would show something as a backup center.

However, he just got garbage time run with LA, appearing in two games.

Why the Lakers really need a back-up center

Right now, the Lakers have Walker Kessler taking most of the minutes at center, averaging 30+ minutes per game, with the rest going to either Sandro Mamukelashvili or Jarred Vanderbilt at the small-ball five.

Against teams without two standout big men, the Lakers can succeed in those matchups.

However, if Kessler is off the floor and a big body is on the floor, it is tough for the Lakers to survive in certain matchups.

If the Lakers don't find one via trade or the buyout market, they'll need to hope they hit on one of these two-way players. Lovering failed to stick, but head coach JJ Redick will hope Cooper can help ease the need for a big man.

Luka Doncic really thrives with a quality big man, and he can make them play better than their actual level because he makes the game easy for them.

Cooper doesn't have a high bar to clear, and if he stays around, his game can really come together.