Lakers turn to Jericho Sims and Jalen Smith after Kuminga picks Minnesota

With Jonathan Kuminga signing with Minnesota instead, the Lakers are exploring options to fill their power forward and backup center needs, per Khobi Price of the California Post.

Price names Bucks center Jericho Sims and Bulls forward Jalen Smith as possible trade targets, while free agent Dwight Powell, a longtime Dallas teammate of Luka Doncic, is floated as a minimum-deal option now that free-agent centers like Nick Richards, who signed with Miami, are off the board.

The Lakers remain hard-capped near the first apron with limited tradable assets, mostly second-round picks and expiring contracts like Jaden Hardy and Dalton Knecht, which Price says restricts their trade market.

The Athletic's Dan Woike had previously reported both Sims and Smith are players Los Angeles is monitoring, though none of the names are tied to formal talks yet.