Veteran center Alex Len will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers after previous reports indicated that he planned to join the Indiana Pacers, Len’s agent told ESPN’s Shams Charania. Len’s decision was seemingly based on changing circumstances in Los Angeles following the trade deadline. To make room on the roster for Len, the Lakers will waive big man Christian Wood, per ESPN.
Len, who had played with the Sacramento Kings since 2021, was traded to the Washington Wizards as part of a multi-team deal that sent Jonas Valanciunas to California’s capital. The Wizards waived him from there, and on Saturday afternoon, reports indicated that he would sign with the Pacers once he cleared waivers on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET.
On Saturday night, however, the Lakers rescinded their deadline acquisition of Charlotte Hornets big man Mark Williams due to issues that were discovered during his physical. With the deadline behind them, the Lakers couldn’t jump back into the trade market to find another big man. That left them with a big role to offer and not many players to offer it to.
In Indiana, Len would have been a backup to Myles Turner, and it’s not clear where he would stood in the pecking order with Thomas Bryant also playing center minutes for the Pacers. The Lakers, meanwhile, had Jaxson Hayes and not much else at center. Sure, two-way big men Trey Jemison and Christian Koloko could theoretically find minutes, but neither has done enough this season to earn steady playing time.
That left the Lakers with a much bigger role to offer Len, and likely a far more desirable basketball situation as well. Len now has two of the best playmakers in NBA history, Luka Doncic and LeBron James, to set him up. That will help him showcase himself as an impending 2025 free agent. And so, with the Lakers situation changing before he could put pen to paper on a deal with the Pacers, Len has elected to head to Los Angeles for the remainder of the season.
Len has played a relatively small role in Sacramento over the past few seasons, averaging fewer than 10 minutes per game in each of the past three. The No 5 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft is a true 7-footer with strength and touch, but his limited mobility at this stage of his career has made it hard for him to contribute defensively. From that perspective, he is at least a contrast to the younger, more athletic Hayes, so the Lakers will be able to mix and match depending on matchup. Neither carries the short-term upside that Williams did, but given the circumstances, the Lakers did the best they could with limited options.
In related news, Indiana signed center Jahlil Okafor to a 10-day contract on Tuesday.
