The Sports Report: Can the Lakers acquire a center at the trade deadline?

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Dan Woike: The pressure, intended or not, is on.

Anthony Davis, in an interview taped with ESPN the day after the Lakers lost to the Clippers, said he thought the team should be active in acquiring a center. The context of the request was more than an ask for more bulk. It was in some ways a call to realign the roster with Davis playing more power forward, an end result that’s growing more unlikely as the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaches.

Davis suffered an abdominal strain Tuesday and is scheduled to be reevaluated in a week, muddying up the trade waters some. Still, let’s assume that the short timetable is a relatively good sign and that the injury isn’t feared to be serious.

In trying to engineer a trade, the Lakers have at their disposal their 2029 and 2031 first-round draft picks, a 1-4 protection on their 2027 first-round pick and a pair of second-round picks in this year’s draft.

In conversations with executives inside and outside of the organization, it’s become clear that the costs for starting-caliber NBA centers are high — particularly ones good enough to force the Lakers into the kind of seismic change that moving Davis to power forward and LeBron James to small forward would cause.

Take Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl, who is under contract for $19.5 million next season (with a player option at the same number in 2026-27). Poeltl, 29, is a talented center who could be the kind of player the Lakers would target. However, Toronto is rumored to be seeking more than a first-round pick for Poeltl (and perhaps even two). It’s the kind of price the Lakers just wouldn’t pay for a player like him, likely requiring they trade Rui Hachimura and maybe two first-round picks for a center who, ultimately, plays the same position as Davis — only worse.

Other center options, like Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic and Washington’s Jonas Valanciunas, don’t offer the kind of rim protection the Lakers got from JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard during their 2020 NBA title run, the model of basketball Davis would like to replicate.

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Anthony Davis to miss at least one week after abdominal injury against 76ers

CLIPPERS

Clippers center Ivica Zubac had 21 points and 22 rebounds in an intense battle with San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama as the Clippers rallied to beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-116 on Wednesday night.

Wembanyama had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs. They have lost five of six.

Wembanyama and Zubac battled throughout with one exchange nearly leading to a skirmish with 4:45 remaining in the third quarter following a three-pointer by Harrison Barnes and a Clippers timeout.

After being shoved to the court from behind by Zubac, Wembanyama got up and ran after the Clippers center but was held back by Spurs staff and players as they filed onto the court for the timeout. Zubac was visibly upset on the previous play, flailing his arms after no foul was called when he was blocked by Wembanyama. No technical foul was called and, after a brief discussion, officials opted not to review the play.

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Clippers box score

NBA scores

NBA standings

2026 WORLD CUP

From Kevin Baxter: he 2026 World Cup kicks off in less than 500 days and there is mounting concern that the U.S. is not ready to welcome the more than 6 million visitors who will flood North America for the tournament.

Fans, politicians and other stakeholders, including FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, fear rigid immigration rules and long visa wait times will make it difficult for supporters and even players to enter the U.S. for the games, tarnishing what FIFA president Gianni Infantino once promised would be the “most inclusive World Cup ever.”

“It’s going to be a massive problem,” said David J. Bier, the associate director for immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian public policy research organization. “There’s no one paying attention to this at all.”

Wait times for interviews for business and tourist visas, which built up under the Biden administration, top 330 days at 18 U.S. embassies and consulates, with some of the longest waits coming in India, Colombia, Peru and Honduras. And since World Cup tickets aren’t expected to go on sale until late this year, most fans planning to come to the U.S. for the games will have less than six months to secure the necessary paperwork.

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Athletes from foreign countries in the U.S. need visas. Here’s how the process works

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers won’t have an arbitration hearing after all this offseason.

The team agreed to terms with reliever Alex Vesia on Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, settling on a contract with the last arbitration-eligible player on its roster.

Vesia’s deal will reportedly guarantee him $2.3 million and includes a club option for 2026. The Athletic first reported the news.

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UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: The only things missing from his emergence as UCLA’s closer are an entrance song and a breathless announcement from the P.A. announcer.

“Preparing to take the big shot for the Bruins, No. 12, Sebastian Mack!”

Otherwise, the sophomore guard has mastered taking over a game in the final minutes.

He made the three-pointer that kept USC from completing a comeback. He converted an old-fashioned three-point play to nudge his team ahead against Gonzaga. He badgered Wisconsin with a barrage of floaters and driving layups.

Like baseball’s best closers, Mack has shown a knack for being dependable in pressure situations.

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ANGEL CITY

From Kevin Baxter: Angel City has made another big commitment to its future by signing forward Alyssa Thompson to a three-year contract extension and her sister, defender Gisele Thompson, for an additional two seasons.

The announcement of the deals came a week after the club cut the ribbon on its new multimillion state-of-the-art training center on the campus of the Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

“Alyssa and Gisele are very important for our club’s future but also for the success of our league,” Mark Parsons, Angel City’s new sporting director, said in a statement. “Both have world-class potential for both club and country and we look forward to continuing to support their growth and development on and off the pitch.”

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KINGS

Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for his second shutout of the season, and the Florida Panthers beat the Kings 3-0 on Wednesday night.

Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett also scored for the Panthers, who entered the game a point back of Toronto for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Bobrovsky got his 46th career shutout.

It was the second time in eight days the teams played each other. The Kings beat the Panthers 2-1 in Los Angeles last Wednesday.

Veteran Kings defenseman Drew Doughty played about 24 minutes in his season debut after missing the first 47 games with a broken ankle suffered during the preseason.

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Kings summary

NHL scores

NHL standings

SUPER BOWL 59

Who does Jason Kelce want to win Super Bowl, his old Eagles team or brother Travis’ Chiefs?

Super Bowl LIX: Start time, teams, how to watch and halftime show

Super Bowl 59
Sunday, Feb. 9
at New Orleans
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs
3:30 p.m., Fox

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1926 — The major league rules committee mandates that pitchers must have access to a rosin bag.

1971 — UCLA starts its 88-game winning streak with a 74-61 win over UC Santa Barbara.

1983 — John Riggins rushes for a Super Bowl-record 166 yards in 38 carries to spark the Washington Redskins to a comeback 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins. For Riggins, the game’s MVP, it’s his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game during the playoffs, also a record.

1993 — Monica Seles beats Steffi Graf 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win her third straight Australian Open.

1994 — The Dallas Cowboys, behind MVP Emmitt Smith and safety James Washington, beat Buffalo 30-13 for their second straight NFL title while giving the Bills four straight Super Bowl losses.

1996 — Magic Johnson finishes with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Lakers’ 128-118 victory over Golden State. It is Johnson’s first regular-season game back from a 4 1/2-season retirement.

1999 — Martina Hingis wins her fifth Grand Slam title and third straight Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over France’s Amelie Mauresmo.

2001 — Daron Rahlves wins the super giant slalom, the first American to capture the event at the world championships.

2002 — Utah’s Karl Malone becomes 2nd player in NBA history to register 34,000 career points by scoring 18 in a 90-78 win over Chicago at the Delta Center; trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points).

2006 — Teemu Selanne scores two goals for his 1,000th point in the Ducks’ 4-3 overtime victory over the Kings.

2010 — Serena Williams ends Justine Henin’s hopes of a Grand Slam title in her return from retirement with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory in the Australian Open final.

2015 — The Phoenix Open continues without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The biggest shock is Woods, who bogeys on his last hole for an 82, the worst score in his two decades as a pro. Mickelson shoots 76 and misses the cut by two shots.

2016 — Angelique Kerber upsets Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open title, ending the six-time champion’s unbeaten streak in finals at Melbourne Park.

2018 — Houston guard James Harden puts up highest scoring triple-double in NBA history (60 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) as the Rockets beat Orlando Magic, 114-107 in Houston.

2022 — Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Rafael Nadal wins record 21st Grand Slam singles title with an epic 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 win over Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

Compiled by the Associated Press