Onyeka Okongwu enjoyed the best season of his NBA career in 2024-25. The 24-year-old center posted career-best numbers in scoring (13.4 points per game), rebounding (8.9 per game), assists (2.3 per game), and steals (0.9 per game) while playing more than 2,000 minutes for the Atlanta Hawks. In fact, those numbers actually understate Okongwu's impact, as he announced his presence with authority after taking over the starting job midseason.
The former lottery pick averaged 15.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in 40 outings after taking the job, and Okongwu posted a blistering 65 percent true shooting mark in those contests. While those numbers speak for themselves, it was also a meaningful leap for Okongwu to establish himself as a full-fledged core piece for the Hawks, particularly when accounting for a very modest contract (four years, $62 million) in the current NBA salary cap landscape.
With that as the backdrop, ESPN's Dave McMenamin made a podcast appearance on [Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/straight-fire-knicks-choke-away-game-1-haliburton-hits/id1523353907?i=1000709403459) and an interesting rumbling emerged with regard to the Hawks ([h/t Lakers Nation](https://lakersnation.com/lakers-rumors-buzz-surrounding-interest-in-hawks-onyeka-okongwu/?utm_medium=website&utm_source=website_internal&utm_campaign=web_link_2)). In that discussion, McMenamin noted "the Lakers made a call to the Hawks around the trade deadline about Okongwu," and that produced the typical internet reaction, including the usual photoshop work of Okongwu suddenly wearing forum blue and gold.
However, the reality is that this doesn't even really rise to the level of a rumor.
Of course the Lakers would want Okongwu
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The Lakers are famously void of current talent at the center position. Los Angeles sent Anthony Davis to Dallas in the Luka Dončić trade and, while the Lakers had a move set up to replace Davis with Charlotte's Mark Williams, that trade was rescinded after the Trade Deadline. That left the Lakers playing small for the remainder of the season, and it is an open secret that Los Angeles will be searching far and wide for a starting-caliber center this summer.
Okongwu certainly would fit that bill, and his combination of youth, contract, and ties to the area (Okongwu played with LaMelo and Lonzo Ball at Chino Hills) would make Lakers fans salivate. Still, the Hawks are under no requirement to even consider sending their starting center to Los Angeles, even before taking the trade logistics into account.
How would this even work?
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The Lakers do have several mid-sized salaries that could at least satisfy the trade-matching requirements. Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber, and Rui Hachimura all make between $11 and $18.3 million for the 2025-26 season, and that list could expand to include Dorian Finney-Smith if he exercises a $15.4 million player option. With that said, Vanderbilt, Vincent, and Kleber are all on less than desirable contracts and, while Hachimura could have appeal, the Lakers undoubtedly want to hold on to him if possible. The same could be said for Finney-Smith, who provides crucial 3-and-D play for Los Angeles.
Could the Lakers make a credible offer with one of those matching salary pieces and a bunch of other fodder, including picks and Dalton Knecht? Maybe, but it doesn't seem likely. Simply put, the Hawks would need to have a clear plan to replace Okongwu with another starting-level center. Atlanta is clearly aiming to win games in 2025-26 and, even if a deal could be found, that obstacle persists.
There is the more nuclear option of Los Angeles potentially considering a trade involving Austin Reaves this summer. However, Reaves would probably only move for a bigger name than Okongwu and, even if the Hawks could nab him, he isn't exactly the best fit with Trae Young.
Needless to say, a more critical look at these two teams as trade partners for Okongwu leaves one lacking for excitement. In the end, it makes sense that the Lakers would covet Okongwu as a two-way center under team control for multiple seasons, but it is hard to see how a deal with Los Angeles would make the Hawks better, and they don't have to answer the phone.