The Los Angeles Lakers have opened the season at 3-0, including a 132-123 comeback victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday in which they erased an 18-point first-half deficit.
Luka Dončić poured in 52 points with eight rebounds and 10 assists, while Austin Reaves added 29 points. The early results have been encouraging, yet the team’s frontcourt depth remains a clear vulnerability.
Kevon Looney has struggled to provide reliable minutes behind starting center Walker Kessler, and Lakers insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic has described the veteran as a “glaring hole” in the current rotation.
Against the Jazz, Looney played only five minutes as coach JJ Redick turned instead to Sandro Mamukelashvili in small-ball looks.
Buha has identified Dallas Mavericks center Moussa Cisse as a realistic, minimum-level addition who could address that need.
“To me, Moussa Cisse, I don’t wanna overrate Moussa Cisse, but I think he’s the exact type of big that would just eat with the Lakers,” Buha said. “And he would be a dynamic lob threat with Luka and Austin, and he just has to screen, roll, finish. He could do that.”
He elaborated that Cisse would not require the Lakers to chase a high-end name.
“He’s also a solid rebounder and rim protector, at least by bench-big standards,” Buha said. “So to me, Moussa Cisse, like, you’re not asking for the moon. You’re not asking to draft an Aday Mara. You’re not asking to add Mitchell Robinson to the bench. Keeping it realistic with a minimum-level player, Moussa Cisse is the archetype to me.”
The 6-foot-11, 220-pound Cisse, an undrafted product out of Memphis, showed efficient production in limited opportunities last season.
He averaged 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 13.9 minutes per game across 38 appearances.
On a per-36-minute basis, those rebounding numbers climbed to 14.7 total rebounds (6.0 offensive, 8.6 defensive), alongside 3.1 blocks. That efficiency underscores the athletic, high-energy profile Buha believes would translate well in Los Angeles as a screen-setter and finisher.
Cisse’s current role in Dallas is modest. Through the first three games he has averaged just 3.7 minutes, slotted behind Daniel Gafford and Morez Johnson Jr., with further minutes likely to shrink once Dereck Lively II returns.
The Mavericks matched a two-year, roughly $4.7 million offer sheet from the New York Knicks this summer to retain him, then chose to keep the younger big over longtime veteran Dwight Powell ahead of the regular season.
Buha has also floated Milwaukee’s Jericho Sims as another low-cost athletic option, but Cisse stands out as the clearer match for the Lakers’ need for a rim-running, rebounding presence who could thrive in the minutes Kessler does not play.
With the season just underway and the Lakers already winning, the question is whether the front office will pursue a modest deal before the need becomes more pressing.
