Initially, the signing of Deandre Ayton looked to have potentially filled the hole at center for the future. However, as the season has progressed, Ayton has looked less and less like the perfect solution,
opening up the search for the long-term answer at the position.
One of the names that could come up in the lead-up to the trade deadline could be Pelicans young center Yves Missi. Drafted four picks after Dalton Knecht, Missi is a young, energetic big man who loves to throw down a lob.
Despite sporting a dazzling 11-36 record, the Pelicans have reportedly made a host of their players, including Herb Jones, untouchable, as a team with the worst record in the league should do. Not included among those players, though, is Yves Missi.
Earlier this week. NBA reporter Jake Fischer wrote about Missi being available and potentially being part of a trade involving Benedict Mathurin from the Pacers.
Combo guard Jordan Poole and the feisty Jose Alvarado are said to feature on that list, but recent first-round pick Yves Missi seems to be generating the greatest interest among the players for which the Pelicans have been testing the market. Along with our reporting last week that Indiana has called on Missi — as part of the Pacers’ ongoing search for front-line reinforcements — I’ve been advised that the Chicago Bulls are a team that covets Missi.
While the Lakers are not mentioned in the piece, there has been previous connections between Missi and LA. Over the summer, Missi was one of the players the Lakers reportedly called about in their search for a center.
After a promising rookie season in which he averaged 9.1 points and 8.2 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game, Missi is averaging just 5.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game this season. After finishing last season with 116 dunks in 73 games, he has 30 in 39 games this year.
A lot of his step back in production feels related to his minutes decreasing and, subsequently, fewer shot attempts. The arrival of Derik Queen has dipped into his playing time, as has the improved health of Zion Williamson.
As a result, Missi is available.
At one point, a swap of Dalton Knecht for Missi was fair value, but those days have long passed. But Knecht’s salary could still be involved to make the math work with other compensation to follow. The biggest question is what that other compensation looks like.
If it’s draft picks, the Lakers are going to run into some problems. There’s the possibility that Pelinka pulls off a trade that nets them more future draft picks, but if that doesn’t happen, then the path to a trade isn’t as clear.
The Lakers don’t really have much in the way of enticing young players to add to the deal. Their best bet is offering some sort of salary relief. New Orleans, though, doesn’t have a bad contract that would make sense for the Lakers to trade for. Which means this is a pretty difficult trade to make work for the Lakers.
To that point, when the competition in the trade market is Mathurin, it’s going to make it a difficult trade for the Lakers to pull off. Mathurin is a much more talented young player than the Lakers have, so their deal would have to be structured differently.
What that solution is, though, is unclear, which might make it unlikely for Missi to be a Laker. But the fact that he’s available and the Lakers have been linked to him at least makes it a possibility.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
