Critiques that the Los Angeles Lakers would be hurt by an overall lack of size rung true through the first 10 games of the season as they struggled to defend the paint and rebound. JaVale McGee, playing a career high in minutes, was proving to be the lone exception.
While the focal point of a meeting between Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and head coach Luke Walton was to address the team’s lack of an offensive identity, it later surfaced that Walton asked the front office for reinforcements in the frontcourt.
Days later, the Lakers signed Tyson Chandler after he secured a buyout from the Phoenix Suns and cleared waivers.