NBA free agency is moving fast, and the Lakers already have a crowded board as they try to build around Luka Doncic with a league-high $52 million in cap space.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Los Angeles has its eyes on a group that includes two familiar names: Luke Kennard and Rui Hachimura. The rest of the list features Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, Peyton Watson, Mitchell Robinson and Sandro Mamukelashvili.
There’s also a separate path that could bring former Mavericks teammate Quentin Grimes into the picture. Yossi Gozlan reported that Grimes and Mamukelashvili could both be targets for the Lakers, and that Los Angeles could sign them while still keeping a $41.25 million max slot. One player could fit into the team’s surplus cap space, which is around $11 million and could grow through a trade, while the other could use the $9.4 million room mid-level.
That kind of flexibility matters, because the Lakers still have a bigger swing in mind this summer.
The biggest jolt came before free agency even opened on June 30: LeBron James decided to leave the franchise after eight seasons. James plans to play a record 24th NBA season, but it won’t be with the Lakers. He still hasn’t picked his next team, though the rumors have connected him to the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a third and final stint.
Marcus Smart’s future also looks uncertain. After one season in Los Angeles, he’s widely expected to leave as an unrestricted free agent after opting out of the final year of his deal.
The Lakers have wanted him back, and Smart outperformed expectations last season while becoming a defensive anchor and a locker-room leader. But the Houston Rockets are now poised to offer a three-year deal worth $21 million, and it remains to be seen whether the Lakers will match that kind of money to keep him from reuniting with former Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka in Houston.
Deandre Ayton, meanwhile, is staying put for now. Like Smart, he had a player option on a two-year Lakers deal, but unlike Smart, the center opted in to his $8.1 million salary for the 2026-27 season. That keeps him in purple and gold for the moment, though the Lakers are still determined to land an A-list center and could move Ayton in a trade before next season.
Hachimura is another name drawing outside attention. The Spurs and Nets are expected to pursue him once free agency begins, and he’s coming off a season in which he emerged as one of the league’s best stretch fours, with his shooting carrying over from the regular season into the playoffs. How Los Angeles values him - and whether it can compete with those teams - is still an open question.
The Lakers also have a decision to make on defensive-minded guard Manon, who spent most of his rookie season with the South Bay Lakers in the G League. He was given a qualifying offer this summer, making him a restricted free agent. Manon stood out in the G League, earning All-Defense honors and finishing second in the voting for G League Defensive Player of the Year, and the Lakers clearly believe he has a chance to become a real NBA defender if given the opportunity.
For now, though, the most important piece in place is Austin Reaves. The Lakers made keeping him their top offseason priority, viewing him as the ideal backcourt partner for Doncic. There were questions about whether a deal would get done, but Reaves agreed to a four-year, $158 million contract - the richest ever for an undrafted player in NBA history.
That gives Los Angeles its backcourt foundation with Doncic and Reaves. Everything else is still in motion.
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Los Angeles would have a chance to make a major run at him only if the timing and cap math break the right way, and that kind of opportunity can shape how aggressively a team spends months in advance. The Lakers are already being linked to the idea of keeping options open for a possible sign-and-trade next summer, which is the sort of planning that can quietly influence the rest of the roster-building process. However this unfolds, Jokics uncertainty is turning Denvers future into a leaguewide storyline with the Lakers watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
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Lakers Just Made A Bronny Decision Fans Will Read Into
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Bronnys spot has naturally drawn extra attention because of everything attached to his name, even as LeBron James own free agency plans remain unknown. Los Angeles still has the ability to keep Bronny around beyond that if it chooses, and with the Lakers family tree always under the microscope, even a small contract move is going to get read for what it might say about the bigger picture. [Read more 🡒]