As the Lakers await the results of Luka Doncic’s MRI, the front office is already thinking ahead to the upcoming summer.
In a whole field of potential candidates, veteran swingman Tobias Harris has recently emerged as a new target for the Los Angeles Lakers this summer. According to insider Brett Siegel, he joins other wing players on the Lakers’ radar, and multiple teams are already in pursuit.
“Rui Hachimura is expected to return on a contract that could be flipped as early as the 2027 trade deadline, and several key names are already being linked to Los Angeles. Players like Tobias Harris, Tari Eason, and Peyton Watson are among early free-agent targets for the Lakers,” wrote Sigel of ClutchPoints. “Harris will have several playoff contenders interested in him, as he ranks second in the league this season among players 33 or older in total plus-minus at +298 for the year.”
Before the Lakers can worry about adding any players, they’ll have to figure out who to retain from their own free agent pool. On that front, the Lakers are in for a busy summer, with both Austin Reaves and LeBron James set to come off the books and seek new contracts. That doesn’t count Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura, who are also up for unrestricted free agency this offseason.
While LeBron’s future remains uncertain, the Lakers fully expect to bring Austin Reaves back on a lucrative new contract extension that will soon make him one of the NBA’s highest-paid players. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess how the Lakers will fill out their roster, but they clearly intend to stock up on the wing.
Tari Eason and Peyton Watson both make solid, low-risk additions, but Tobias Harris has the potential to make a lasting impact. At 33-years-old, his best days are behind him, but it also puts him in a unique position to thrive in a supporting role behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. As a 6’8″ isolation scorer and capable spot-up shooter, Harris has the potential to bring a spark to any offense, and the Lakers are no different.
This season, in 59 games for the Pistons, Harris is averaging 13.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game on 46.2% shooting and 36.5% shooting from three. While he can be streaky at times, he’s been a reliable source of scoring for the Pistons, and he holds his own as a defender with his mobility and smart positioning on the floor.
The Lakers’ ambitions no doubt go beyond Harris, but he can be the perfect addition for them at the right price. After making $26.6 million this season alone, we can expect him to earn roughly half that per year on his next contract, and it might be just enough for the Lakers to deem it a worthy addition.
Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see who Rob Pelinka brings in this summer, but he won’t be content to just sit around and run it back. Under his watch, the Lakers will not settle for complacency in the Luka Doncic era, and that means using whatever means at their disposal to stack the deck in their favor.
