The Lakers’ offseason remaking has already started, and the first wave of moves points to a roster that could look very different once next season tips off. LeBron James has told the team he will not be back, and Los Angeles has wasted no time building around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
That reset began with a major swing for Walker Kessler. ESPN reported that the Lakers are bringing in the big man from Utah in exchange for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030. It was the kind of deal that signals a front office is serious about changing the shape of the roster, not just tweaking around the edges.
Even with that move in place, the Lakers are not done. One question hanging over the roster is whether Bronny James is part of the long-term plan.
Heavy.com’s Adel Ahmad wrote, “It is still unclear whether the Lakers view Bronny as a potential long-term piece. With the franchise still looking to round out the roster around superstar point guard Luka Doncic, Bronny could be involved in a trade.”
Another name now tied to Los Angeles is Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington. NBA reporter Evan Sidery floated a framework that would send Washington to the Lakers in a package built around Bronny James, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia and a 2032 pick swap.
“A potential trade framework between the Lakers and Mavericks featuring PJ Washington: Los Angeles: Washington. Dallas: Bronny James, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, 2032 pick swap,” Sidery wrote.
Washington would fill a clear need for Los Angeles as the team searches for a starting-caliber wing. He would also reunite with Doncic, with whom he built strong chemistry in Dallas. Washington has reportedly come up in trade talks, and if the Lakers do make that move, they would be getting an athletic, versatile forward who can matter on both ends of the floor.
In Other News...
Mavericks Fans Just Got A Brutal Reminder About Luka's Missing Defender
Matisse Thybulles path back into Luka Doncics orbit is the kind of reminder Mavericks fans probably did not need. Dallas tried to bring in the long, disruptive wing in 2023 on a three-year offer sheet, seeing him as the sort of perimeter stopper who could fit alongside Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II. Instead, Thybulle stayed put and the Mavericks moved on, but the defensive profile that made him so appealing never really changed.
Now he is with the Lakers on a one-year deal and once again attached to Doncics world, this time as a player expected to handle a major share of the opponents best perimeter assignments. For Dallas, it is a small but familiar sting: the kind of defender it wanted, the kind of defender it could use, and the kind of defender it still has to watch help someone else chase the same goals. [Read more 🡒]
Luka Trade Fallout May Have Just Created Another Mavericks Gut Punch
The Mavericks February trade of Luka Doni keeps echoing far beyond Dallas, and the latest ripple landed in Los Angeles. The Lakers have spent months trying to stabilize the center spot, first with a failed swing at Mark Williams and then by turning to Deandre Ayton as the starter, but their latest move for Walker Kessler came with a price that would have been hard to imagine before the Doni deal reset the market.
Los Angeles sent a heavy package of future draft assets to Utah for Kessler, and part of the internal logic was simple: the Lakers felt more comfortable paying that kind of cost because of what they did not have to surrender in the Doni trade. It is another reminder that Dallas did not just move on from a franchise star in February, it also helped shape the way other teams are now spending, and Kessler may end up as one more player whose value is viewed through the lens of what Doni can unlock around him. [Read more 🡒]