Luka Doncic has expressly requested that the Los Angeles Lakers add an athletic big man this offseason to utilize on the offensive end of the court, and who better than someone Doncic already knows works well alongside him?
Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford fits the bill, as the two worked together on the way to winning the Western Conference and appearing in the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics just two summers past.
The Mavericks are resetting the franchise around Cooper Flagg and are already one year into a long-haul rebuild. Moving Gafford and his $54 million contract, which runs through the next three seasons, for a strong draft asset makes sense as a part of that broader strategy.
Jake Fischer, writing a guest post for “The Stein Line” on Saturday, June 27, detailed the current market for Gafford and the gap between what Dallas is asking and what the league at large is willing to offer.
“Atlanta did show interest in Dallas’ Daniel Gafford before the February trade deadline, league sources say, but was unwilling to part with more than second-round draft compensation for the 27-year-old,” Fischer wrote. “League sources say that the Mavericks tried to acquire a first-round pick for Gafford in the lead-up to this week’s NBA Draft but could not generate such an offer.”
Daniel Gafford Can Bring Lakers Athleticism Luka Doncic Needs on Both Ends of Court
GettyDaniel Gafford of the Dallas Mavericks.
Gafford averaged 9.5 points and 6.9 rebounds last season after putting up double-digits in the scoring column in each of the previous two campaigns. He added 1.3 blocks and 1.1 assists per contest in 2025-26 across 55 appearances (44 starts).
An athletic six-feet, 10-inches tall and weighing 265 pounds, Gafford is a bouncy lob threat who fits the style of offense Doncic likes to play. He has also proven himself a viable rim-protector, which is a trait Los Angeles is hunting after bringing back Austin Reaves as Doncic’s backcourt partner.
The Lakers currently have multiple tradable first-round draft picks and multiple first-round swaps they can move in an attempt to improve the roster around Doncic and Reaves. The team’s stated goals are a center in the vein of Gafford, though not necessarily Gafford himself, as well as 3-and-D wings who are versatile defensively and can shoot upwards of 40 percent from deep.
Mitchell Robinson Option for Lakers in Free Agency
GettyMitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks.
Other big men on L.A.’s radar, if the team doesn’t want to spend a first-rounder on Gafford and can’t get Dallas to agree to some other type of compensation, include Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks and Walker Kessler.
However, there is essentially no path to the latter, as he is a restricted free agent and the Utah Jazz likely intend to match any offer sheet he receives once free agency arrives. If the Lakers made an offer, they would have to wait several days for the Jazz to either match it or decline their option to do so.
In the meantime, other teams would clear the market of Los Angeles’ backup targets and potentially leave the franchise with few options to improve, which renders Kessler something of a non-starter in L.A.
Former Pistons center Isaiah Stewart is off the board after Detroit traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies for three second-round picks last week.
That leaves Robinson as among the best options, as he is headed for free agency and the Knicks may not be able to afford to bring him back unless ownership is willing to go into the second apron and pay the extra money that doing so entails.
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