ESPN

The Los Angeles Lakers are bringing 6-foot-11 center Dan Gadzuric to camp, according to a source. Gadzuric, a former UCLA player, last played in the NBA in 2012 for the New York Knicks. In February, he joined a team in Venezuala.

The Lakers entered last season with, at least in theory, a decent plan of attack in regards to center depth. Theo Ratliff had all the trappings of a perfect third center: A ring-seeking veteran who would be happy with his role (unlike D.J. Mbenga), a long track record as a shot blocking defensive presence, and just enough skill at the other end to serve as a reasonable stopgap should he be pressed into extended minutes for a game here or there.

Plus, he was cheap, an important consideration given the team's cap constraints.

Oh, the best laid plans. Turned out Ratliff was a disaster, not because he played poorly but because for all intents and purposes, he didn't play at all. 71 minutes spread over 10 games. His absence, combined with Andrew Bynum's slower-than-expected recovery from knee surgery following the 2010 playoffs forced Pau Gasol into far more time on the floor than the Lakers wanted. A season that started with Pau in the (very) early conversation for MVP ended with a mental and physical postseason disaster, leaving a huge swath of fans across L.A. wondering if he's cooked for good.

It lets Gasol off the hook too easily to pin all his late season instability to the minutes piled up while Bynum and Ratliff were sidelined, but it likely laid the foundation. All the spry from a summer of rest was sucked out of his legs, and he never had a chance to nurse his own hammy and knee tweaks.

In short, the Lakers season was scuttled in part because a player who wasn't supposed to play anyway, couldn't. Erosion from the bottom, not the top.

Even with Bynum expected to start next year healthy, leaving the Lakers a robust twosome on the block, they'd be insane not to bolster the center position this offseason. It's not their only need, but is higher on the list than most would suspect. The good news is, in contrast to say point guard, where the list of available free agents is more depressing than a Morrissey anthology, there are actually a relative glut of solid 5's on the market, meaning the Lakers could very well get a higher quality solution at a cut rate price.

So without further ado, here are some of the really, really tall people the Lakers can shop this summer/fall...

THE "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US LETTERS IN OUR INBOX ABOUT THESE GUYS" GUYS:

• Tyson Chandler (Unrestricted Free Agent, Dallas)
• Nene (UFA, Denver)
• Samuel Dalembert (UFA, Sacramento)
• Greg Oden (Restricted Free Agent, Portland)
• Spencer Hawes (RFA, Philadelphia)

Life is too short-- for me and for you-- to explain why Chandler and Nene, both coming off top shelf campaigns, probably wouldn't be happy serving as Bynum's backup at a reduced salary. While you may have spent the last year or so thinking Dalembert's first name was actually "The Expiring Contract Of," he's still grossly overqualified for the gig, and even at a major reduction from the $13.5 million he earned last year, likely too expensive. The $8.8 million qualifying offer extended to Oden by Portland already puts him out of L.A.'s price range, and call me crazy, I wonder if as an insurance policy on Bynum, could be viewed as a shaky choice. Maybe it's just me. The Sixers aren't letting Hawes, at 23, a decent shooter who improved his rebound rate last season, go. Not for what the Lakers can offer.

YES, THEY'RE OLDER, BUT WITH AGE COMES WISDOM, RIGHT? WISDOM, WITH A SIDE OF "WILLING TO PLAY 10 MINUTES A NIGHT":

• Jeff Foster (UFA, Indiana)
• Joel Przybilla (UFA, Portland)
• Kurt Thomas (UFA, Chicago)

In a perfect world, the Lakers could acquire a young, athletic, highly durable center with great potential, one they could groom for what might be a bigger role down the road. In this one, such a player isn't as realistic an option. Instead, most neatly fitting the job description are older vets seeking a chance to contribute on a championship caliber team.

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