The Los Angeles Lakers have been among the busier teams in free agency in 2026, having completely overhauled their roster. The Lakers have a lot of new faces now, and team insider Jovan Buha shared his verdict on the acquisitions on the Lakers Collective podcast.
“In a macro sense, I view this all as a successful offseason,” Buha said. “I disagree partly with the direction they went post-[Walker] Kessler. They got Kessler. That is the piece that is locked in, and you could get off of [Quentin] Grimes or [Sandro Mamukelashvili] or whatever in the future if you need to, and like there’s some flexibility there.
“I think the [Collin] Sexton room exception contract was the mistake here,” Buha continued. “Where if you look at both Marcus Smart and Kelly Oubre are making less money on two-year deals. And for two years, I would rather take the gamble that Marcus Smart stays healthy… I think Kelly Oubre honestly might have been the most appealing because he at least gives you some of that wing size.
“I think he has more utility offensively than Marcus in that scoring perspective,” Buha added. “So, the other two, I see the vision. I really like them.”
The Lakers handed Collin Sexton a two-year, $19.2 million deal, with a player option for the second year. Sexton averaged 15.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game for the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls in 2025-26. The Lakers have brought him in to be a spark plug off the bench, but Buha thinks they’d have been better off either bringing Marcus Smart back or signing Kelly Oubre Jr.
Smart averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26. The 32-year-old was relatively healthy, played 62 games, and was probably their best defensive player last season.
Smart isn’t as good offensively as Sexton, but he is far better defensively. You need as many good defenders around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as possible, so keeping him might have been the better option. As Buha pointed out, Smart was cheaper than Sexton, too, as he signed a two-year, $12.4 million deal with the Houston Rockets.
Oubre was another who was cheaper, as the Indiana Pacers signed him to a two-year, $16.5 million deal. The 30-year-old averaged 14.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2025-26.
Oubre is a solid 6’8″ two-way wing, and you could argue that he is the kind of player the Lakers need. They seem to have made it a point to sign younger players, though.
Kevon Looney is the only player they signed who is in the 30s, and he’s on a veteran’s minimum. The second-oldest player on the team is now Reaves at 28.
While getting younger isn’t a bad idea in the NBA, many within the Lakers reportedly acknowledge they might have taken a step back. They are looking at a longer-term vision, so it’ll be interesting to see what they look like in a couple of years.
The Lakers also aren’t done doing business just yet. They have been linked to Matisse Thybulle recently, and remain in the mix for Jonathan Kuminga. Thybulle would provide a boost defensively, while Kuminga is pretty much a wildcard. There are pros and cons to both, and time will tell what direction the Lakers go in.
