Puka Nacua isn’t abandoning the Lakers just because the face of the franchise has changed. The Rams receiver, a regular presence at Crypto.com Arena in purple and gold gear, made it clear he’s staying with Los Angeles - even as the team steps into the Luka Doncic era.
LeBron James is moving on this summer and has signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in NBA free agency, leaving the Lakers to build around Doncic as their top priority. The front office has been active all offseason, adding multiple new pieces ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Nacua, a diehard Lakers fan who has often been spotted at games, said he’ll keep backing the team. He’s a big LeBron supporter, but he’s not following James to Philadelphia and won’t be making trips there to watch the 76ers. Instead, he said he’ll be wearing a Luka Doncic jersey moving forward and will likely be in the building when the 76ers visit Los Angeles, via Michael Duarte of The California Post.
With James officially set to play for Philadelphia next season, the NBA’s next big task is locking in the 2026-27 schedule. One of the marquee dates will be LeBron’s first game back in Los Angeles as a 76er, a matchup that figures to draw plenty of attention. The 76ers are expected to be a legitimate title contender, and James could be entering what may be his final season.
The league usually releases its schedule in the middle of August, once most of the offseason movement has settled. Last year, it came out on Aug. 14, the earliest release in recent years. Before that, the schedule was unveiled on Aug. 15 in 2024-25 and on Aug. 17 in both 2023-24 and 2022-23.
If that pattern holds, the 2026-27 schedule should arrive soon. Some matchups are expected to leak before the full release, including the opening-night games and the Christmas Day slate.
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There is optimism around what the new-look group can do with the ball, and a rival scout even flagged the offense as a potential strength. But the bigger issue remains on the other end, where the Lakers ability to make real progress defensively under JJ Redick will shape how far this reset can go. For all the interest in the new names, the lingering question is whether the roster has enough reliable two-way balance to hold up when the schedule gets heavy. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Interest In Jonathan Kuminga Comes Down To One Crucial Fit
The Lakers interest in Jonathan Kuminga has hovered in the background as free agency drags on, but the appeal is tied to more than just talent. Jovan Buha noted that Los Angeles is weighing both the contract number and whether Kuminga would accept a role built around defense and team play, the kind of fit the Lakers have been targeting as they try to round out the roster.
Kuminga remains a young forward with clear upside and All-Star ambitions, which is part of what makes this such a delicate conversation. The open question is whether he would be willing to lean into the kind of responsibilities the Lakers need most, or whether he is still looking for a bigger offensive lane elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Just Lost One Of Their Clearest Wing Fits
A wing market that already felt thin got a little tighter for the Lakers, who had shown interest in Naji Marshall as a possible fit. Dallas took him off that board with a three-year extension that locks him in as part of the Mavericks long-term plans, a move that also nearly doubles his previous salary and signals how much value the team places on his two-way profile.
For the Lakers, the timing matters because Marshall had been one of the cleaner roster fits to monitor, especially for a team always searching for sturdier perimeter help. He is still technically trade-eligible under NBA rules, so the door is not completely closed, but Dallas has made its stance clear enough that Los Angeles will have to look elsewhere unless the market changes in a bigger way. [Read more 🡒]