The Lakers are still trying to sort out their final roster spot, and the logjam has them one player over the limit with no easy fix yet.
The front office had been looking to create room through a trade, but that route hasn’t gotten the job done. If Los Angeles can’t work out a deal, the team may have to cut someone instead. At one point, Bronny James, Jaden Hardy and Dalton Knecht were seen as the most obvious names in that conversation.
“Clearly, the Lakers need to dump someone, and I think it's going to be one of three players," Lakers insider Jovan Buha said. "It's going to either be Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy, or Bronny James."
More recently, though, another possible trade chip has entered the picture: Jake LaRavia. The former first-round pick had an up-and-down run with the Lakers last season, and that inconsistency has made him a player worth monitoring if Los Angeles decides to move him.
“Hustles, plays every game, but inconsistent. His contract makes him an attractive piece, though, as the Lakers are still figuring out the back end of their roster," Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney wrote.
LaRavia had stretches where he helped Los Angeles, but there were also nights when he barely made a mark. That opens the door for a trade if the Lakers can find a team interested in taking him on. One possible fit, according to Morris Bankston of the Bulls Beat Blog, is the Chicago Bulls.
“The Los Angeles Lakers remain a viable trade partner for the Bulls to engage in the twilight of the 2026 NBA offseason… An intriguing and risky trade opportunity for the Bulls would be acquiring Lakers forward Jake LaRavia into their room MLE to fill their 15th roster spot,” Banks wrote.
For the Lakers, a deal like that would do exactly what they need: clear a spot and potentially bring back some draft capital. Right now, the priority is simple - make the roster easier to manage and get under the limit.
LaRavia has earned $15 million in his young career, but he still has to prove he can bring steadier production. If he does, he could be a useful piece for a young Bulls team. Whether this actually turns into a trade is still unclear, but Los Angeles and Chicago appear to have a scenario worth exploring.
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For now, though, the path to real minutes is crowded, which is part of what makes his development so interesting. The Bulls have other wings ahead of him in the pecking order, and the bigger question is not whether Essengue has a place in the long-term picture, but how patient the team will be as it waits for him to grow into it. [Read more 🡒]