The Los Angeles Lakers have made significant offseason moves to strengthen their roster, with their recent additions doing a splendid job of bolstering the rotation. While the team has indicated that it will make necessary trades to bring in reinforcements, many have argued that the Lakers lack the assets to do so. This may not be the case.
Although their war chest of picks has been depleted significantly, they still possess five first-round picks (2026, 2028, 2030, 2031, and 2032) along with one second-round pick in 2032.
Of these, the Lakers can trade the 2031 and 2032 first-round picks, since the remaining picks collide with outgoing first-rounders. In this regard, their five round picks could be viewed as pick swaps, which may be appealing to some teams.
This doesn’t fully reflect the value of the assets the Lakers possess on their salary sheet. With an abundance of expiring contracts, along with pending player options next summer, L.A. could see a significantly clearer salary sheet, which aligns with their plans for 2026.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the cumulative value of the Lakers’ expiring contracts this year.
List of Lakers’ Expiring Contracts (by value):
LeBron James – $52.6 million
Rui Hachimura – $18.2 million
Austin Reaves (Player Option) – $14.8 million
Gabe Vincent – $11.5 million
Maxi Kleber – $11.0 million
Jaxson Hayes – $3.4 million
Total: $111.5 million, including Austin Reaves (he will most likely decline player option next summer)
After combining these figures, the Lakers will see roughly $96.7 million coming off the books next summer. While this is a large sum already, when factoring in the likelihood of Austin Reaves declining his player option to test free agency, the Lakers could free up an additional $14.8 million. This brings the total tally up to a whopping $111.5 million in free cap space.
The benefit of an expiring contract lies in the amount of cap space it can free up in the following season. Many rebuilding teams tend to trade for expiring contracts so they can create salary space to sign valuable free agents.
Reports have indicated that the Lakers have similar plans, targeting the free-agent markets of 2026 and 2027 to make a big splash. Although the 2026 class of free agents doesn’t necessarily have the best crop of stars, the 2027 class could be one to look out for.
In the current scenario, the Lakers can still make trades to strengthen their roster. Several players have emerged as potential targets in this regard. From defensive stalwarts like Jrue Holiday to star-caliber big men like Bam Adebayo, the Purple and Gold have enough expiring contracts to facilitate a trade, while also possessing valuable draft capital to sweeten the deal.
Reaves has garnered a lot of interest in the trade market. At 27 years old, he is an extremely capable guard, coming off a solid season of averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. Recent rumors have suggested that if the Lakers can’t retain him next season, they may consider trading him to get some value for him while they can.
It is abundantly clear that the Lakers will continue building their roster around their superstar Luka Doncic, as the team has effectively switched to his timeline this offseason.
At 26 years old, Doncic promises to be one of the best players in the league for a long time to come. There are growing expectations that he will sign his extension with the team as well. Considering his commitment and ongoing recruitment efforts, the franchise appears to have secured its future.
The decision to pivot from LeBron James has undoubtedly had an impact on the team as a whole, but the consensus suggests that the 40-year-old superstar will be with the team for training camp.
Given the kind of roster the Lakers have managed to put together, they are poised to be competitive in the Western Conference. Although they may be a few pieces short of being considered a title contender, the organization could simply be biding its time before making a move, effectively signaling that they may be preparing for a major trade before the deadline.
