Who will be the backup center?

[eitanr]

If your looking at the roster right now, there seems to be a glaring hole at the backup 5.

1. Lyles is nice in some spots, but your giving up too much rebounding - especially considering the backup 5 is alongside a small ball 4 (i.e. DeRozan, Murray in spurts most likely)
2. Len and McGee are aging so who else is there?
3. The team gives up too much rebounding once Sabonis is on the floor. I'd argue in terms of players most valuable to their team, Sabonis as a result is probably top 2-3 in the league alongside Embiid for a similar reason.

So who are the candidates? The Kings would need either a spacing backup 5 to allow for Monk/DeRozan even more room to slash OR a rebounding/interior defensive menace, of course ideally both but beggars can't be choosers. Problem is they don't have any easily tradeable talents that won't also deter their progress elsewhere. Below are some buy low or cheaper candidates to consider.

A. Duop Reath - Portland has 4 centers now. Reath had a 40% 3-point attempt rate and can space the floor well. Also is a solid enough rebounder and shot blocker. He is signed for 2 more years at a measger $2M per at age 28. I would assume the cost is a protected 2nd rounder.
B. Jaylen Williams - Also signed for 2 years at 22. Like Reath he has a high 3-point attempt rate (63%) and also a solid passing game (15% assist rate). He would cost more than Reath of course, but with OKC signing Hartenstein unsure how many 2nd rounders would get it done.
C. Jarace Walker - he's only 6'8 and really a PF, but makes more sense in a second unit alongside Lyles. The Pacers just re-signed Obi long term which cemented Walker's fate as not a real part of the future. His cap figure is at $6M and unsure how low his value has fallen. Are a plethora of seconds enough to snag him alongside Colby Jones? He's a defensive fiend.
D. Dayrone Sharpe - The Nets just re-signed Claxton. Sharpe may cost a bit, but worthwhile as a backup 5 if a 1st does not need to be sent.
E. Nick Richards - was part of recent rumors with Duece McBride of the Knicks. Solid rebounder and shot blocker.
F. Larry Nance Jr - The Kings can absorb him in a swap with Colby Jones. Good rebounder and improved play maker and 3-point spacer. Again, do seconds get the job done?

[LightTheBeam]

I have backup wing as a bigger need currently. Swapping Huerter for a forward is my preference. Len is fine during the regular season for 10-15mpg, and we can also go small at times, but in the regular season we have no real SF/PF style backup for Keegan/Derozan so we are going to be forced to go small a lot.

Right now I have our rotation as -
Fox/Monk
Keon/Huerter/(Carter)
DeRozan/
Keegan/Lyles
Sabonis/Len

When carter comes back you can shift Huerter to play backup SF, but again compounds the small problems.

Say we were to swap Huerter for DFS, this is how i'd envision the playoff rotation.

Sabonis (38) - Lyles (10)
Keegan (30) - DFS - (14) - Lyles (4)
Derozan (38) - Keegan (6) - Keon (4)
Keon (26) - Monk (22)
Fox (38) - Monk (10)

This is rough estimate.
Sabonis 38
Derozan - 38
Fox - 38
Keegan - 36
Monk - 32
Keon - 30
DFS - 14
Lyles - 14

That's the 8 man playoff rotation. And of course Carter could find his way to 10-15mpg pretty easily by resting Derozan, fox, Keegan, Monk, Keon a bit more. But you could also swap DFS for Isiah Stewart and do the same thing while going a bit bigger.

Of your list, I'd be most interested in Nance if he is free. Good size, athletic, can stretch the floor, play the 4/5 with Lyles. But I don't think ATL just gives him away, I see them trading Capela and running Nance/OO

[OxAndFox]

Sir Alex Len is the backup 5

[BoogieTime]

Wow man, thats a lot of effort to put into creating a thread of the backup position of a team your not a fan of. Props

Len is solid, though. There are nights we go small, use a shorter rotation and he doesn't play

[eitanr]

Wow man, thats a lot of effort to put into creating a thread of the backup position of a team your not a fan of. Props

Len is solid, though. There are nights we go small, use a shorter rotation and he doesn't play

Understand, but is Len reliable for a full season. Just feel the front court depth is fairly weak outside of Sabonis and the reliance on him to go 36 min for 80 games is scary. There are cheap enough options there. Also may have a connection to the team which sparked my interest.

[pillwenney]

Wow man, thats a lot of effort to put into creating a thread of the backup position of a team your not a fan of. Props

Len is solid, though. There are nights we go small, use a shorter rotation and he doesn't play

Understand, but is Len reliable for a full season. Just feel the front court depth is fairly weak outside of Sabonis and the reliance on him to go 36 min for 80 games is scary. There are cheap enough options there. Also may have a connection to the team which sparked my interest.

Part of the value of Sabonis is that this isn't really that true.

Anyway, I think of it in terms of composite size on the floor. I'd be open to upgrade to big depth or wing depth in theory. The issue with prioritizing upgrading Len is that it's ultimately a position that won't play much unless it's a 4-5 type of player, but that's kinda what Lyles is. Conversely, if we upgrade our wing depth and get a long wing that can still help with our composite length, to me, that opens up more Lyles at C minutes, which also effectively upgrades the backup C minutes. The problem with that right now is it would come with playing Derozan and Murray or an even smaller lineup than that. And that's just not enough size on the floor to be sustainable IMO. If, however, it's Murray/Actual big wing/Lyles, I think that becomes much more doable.