The Los Angeles Lakers fell short of their championship goals this season, but they will work hard to rectify their losses this summer and build a roster worthy of Luka Doncic’s loyalty.
With around $50 million in cap space, the Lakers will be big spenders, but a lot of the money will go back to paying star guard Austin Reaves, who is due for a massive new extension. If they re-sign LeBron James, it will only limit their financial flexibility even further. That’s why, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers are leaning toward facilitating a trade with their cap space rather than signing a free agent directly.
“There’s not that much out there in free agency, and the two guys they probably want are restricted free agents, and that’s really dangerous (Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler). They’re restricted, so what does that mean? If you sign him to an offer sheet, someone can match that,” reported ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “You could wait, and you could sign him to an offer sheet, and then their current team could match it, and then you’ve got nobody, and the other centers are off the board. The most likely thing is you either do a sign-and-trade or you do a trade for another center into your cap space. Every conversation I’ve had with the Lakers, I’ve felt like the option of using the cap space for a trade is very much in play. There are a lot of centers out there that they’ve been scouting all year long.”
Before the offseason even began, the Lakers knew exactly the type of player they were looking for. More than anything, Luka Doncic wants to play with an elite, high-quality big man who can defend the rim and run pick-and-rolls effectively.
From that description, multiple players fit the bill, including Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, Mitchell Robinson, and Robert Williams III. The problem is that with the Lakers’ top targets (Duren and Kessler) being restricted free agents, their teams will have the power to match any offer sheet.
That’s why the best path to finding a reliable big man is via trade, and it’s also the most affordable. They can use whatever cap space they have left to accommodate a new player while also sending back some salary in return to maintain financial flexibility. By trading players like Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and Deandre Ayton, the Lakers could save millions, allowing them to broaden their search for major roster upgrades.
Options are limited, but targets could include Daniel Gafford or Nic Claxton, who both make great fits next to Luka Doncic. There’s also Kel’el Ware, a young and unproven big man who might be well worth the risk.
Whoever the Lakers are able to get, they must not stop until they’ve done everything they can to maximize the roster. They made a promise to Luka Doncic that they would pull off something special this summer, and trading for a true difference-maker is the best way to follow through on that.
