The Lakers may already be sitting on 16 players under guaranteed contracts for the 2026-27 season, but that hasn’t stopped the offseason noise from building around the roster. Los Angeles still has work to do just to trim down to the 15-man limit before opening night, and the front office could also keep hunting for ways to sharpen the group around Luka Doncic.
One name tied to that conversation is Klay Thompson. Christian Clark of The Athletic reported that the Mavericks have explored trade ideas involving Thompson, who is set to play the upcoming season on an expiring $17.5 million contract.
There’s another layer to the Lakers angle, too. Thompson, the son of Mychal Thompson - who won two NBA titles with the Lakers in the Showtime era - reportedly has a soft spot for Los Angeles and would not be opposed to finishing his career back home.
The fit is easy to picture. Thompson is no longer the same force he was with the Warriors, but he still shot 38.7 percent from three over his two seasons in Dallas.
Put him next to Doncic again, and the open looks would be there.
Still, it’s far from clear whether the Lakers would actually choose that route.
P.J. Washington is another former Doncic teammate in Dallas who has come up as a possible trade target for Los Angeles.
Right now, though, the buzz appears to be centered on Jonathan Kuminga. If that pursuit falls apart, and it could, Washington could become a workable fallback if Dallas is willing to engage.
The obstacle is the money. Washington is attached to an $89 million deal that runs through the 2029-30 NBA season, with no team or player options. That’s a serious commitment for the Lakers to absorb.
Even so, Washington brings more than one useful skill. His three-point shooting dipped from 38.1 percent to 32.5 percent last season, but he still offers scoring, rebounding and defense. At 27, he’s also still in a pretty young phase of his career.
In the 2025-26 season, Washington averaged 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor.
In Other News...
Lakers New-Look Roster Comes With One Question Fans Can't Ignore
The Lakers roster reset has brought a different kind of conversation into focus, one centered less on star power and more on how the pieces fit around it. A front office executive and an assistant coach spoke with Keith Smith of Spotrac about the teams additions after LeBron James departure, laying out the early expectations for rookies Cameron Carr, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes. The emphasis was clear: defensive improvement, more offensive versatility and a group that has to grow into the roles the staff imagines for it.
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 🡒]