Luka Doncic's former $13,394,160 teammate's contract demand can lead to Lakers interest

Heading into the offseason, it's no secret that the LA Lakers will be in the market for a starting big man. While Jaxson Hayes showed flashes of brilliance throughout this season, the fact of the matter is that LA lacks frontcourt depth. If they want to take the next step towards title contention, they'll need to address the matter this summer.

According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, one of Doncic's former teammates, Daniel Gafford, who was on a $13.3 million contract this season, reportedly wants to get paid like a starting center. If Dallas is unwilling to oblige, then he believes Gafford could wind up getting traded.

During the latest episode of "The Hoop Collective" show, MacMahon explained how Gafford's demand creates a problem for Dallas:

"Dereck Lively is a year away from getting an extension. Daniel Gafford is entering the final year of his contract. Gafford reasonably and rightly wants to get starting center money.

"You can’t have AD on a max, Lively on a big contract and pay Gafford starting center money."

As MacMahon went on to theorize, LA could put together an intriguing trade package that involves Rui Hachimura and several picks to engage Dallas in talks for Gafford.

After a disappointing postseason, it appears as though the only safe players in LA are Luka Doncic and LeBron James.

"We need somebody to get rebounds" - Looking back at Rui Hachimura's comments following Lakers' first-round elimination

Prior to the NBA trade deadline, Anthony Davis spoke openly about the Lakers' need for front-court depth.

Instead, the team wound up parting ways with Davis, instead acquiring Luka Doncic in a groundbreaking trade, with a plan to acquire a center before the deadline.

Once the Mark Williams trade was rescinded, however, LA was left with no choice but to enter the postseason without a championship-caliber center.

They had a first-round elimination at the hands of a Minnesota Timberwolves team that utilizes a true power forward-center combination with Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert. Rui Hachimura spoke openly during his postgame press conference after the loss about LA's need for frontcourt depth:

“We need somebody to get rebounds, I got to be one of them, of course. (But) I can’t just be face-to-face boxing out Gobert the whole game. I can’t get a rebound."

What Hachimura may not have known at the time was that the LA Lakers' quest for a starting center could result in the team parting ways with him, as Tim MacMahon suggested in his mock trade.