June 17th news, as the free market approaches, all NBA teams are preparing for the offseason lineup adjustment. For the Los Angeles Lakers, how to strengthen the weak inside lineup in the offseason has become a top priority. However, according to the Lakers team reporter Jovan Buha, the Lakers management seems to have paved the way for the possible "failure of recruiting" in advance, and plans to renew the contracts with two backup centers, Trey Jamison and Christian Kroko, and is expected to provide two-way contracts.

Although the free market has not yet opened, the Lakers have locked in a backup center in advance, which makes people speculate that they have encountered resistance in the process of finding a strong center. After all, if they are confident in introducing a stronger inside core, they can completely deal with the issue of marginal players later. Now they are eager to keep Jamison and Kroko, which may indicate that the management is not making smooth progress in the operation of the main center.

Among them, 25- year-old Trey Jamison , although an undrafted player, impressed the coaching staff and some fans with his fighting spirit and enthusiasm. He had previously played for the Wizards, Grizzlies and Pelicans. Although his statistics were only 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, his influence on the court should not be underestimated. According to statistics, the Lakers' winning rate has significantly improved in the games he played, and he is regarded as a " lucky " player. However, due to the two-way contract restrictions, he failed to make the playoffs. The Lakers had to let Alex Len and Jax Hayes , who were in poor condition, take turns to play, resulting in frequent targeting of the inside line, exposing huge shortcomings.

However, Jamison is not the answer to the regular rotation after all. Although he is full of energy, his ability is still limited to the substitute status, and it is difficult for him to perform stably under high-intensity confrontation. As for Christian Kroko, another player who is scheduled to renew his contract , the situation is even more serious. This 2022 second-round pick has never shown enough competitiveness since entering the league. Even in the Development League, his performance is mediocre. He played 37 games for the Lakers last season, averaging only 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game, and had almost no presence. Some industry insiders believe that if the Lakers did not hold his ball, he would probably find it difficult to find a place in other teams.

The management planned to renew the contracts of the two centers in advance, perhaps to prevent the worst result of missing out on high-level inside players in the free market, or perhaps to preserve the depth of the lineup. But from the current situation, if the Lakers cannot introduce a dominant main center in the free market, it is obvious that they cannot support the intensity of the playoffs level with only two-way contract players.