The Lakers’ offseason keeps twisting in new directions, and Klay Thompson has now been pulled into the conversation.
Los Angeles has already been through a pile of change, from LeBron James leaving after eight seasons to a full roster shake-up and a front-office reset. Then came the ownership bombshell: majority team owner Mark Walter is set to walk away with a $2.5 billion profit after buying the Lakers for a record-setting $10 billion just 14 months ago. Before that next ownership shift, with Bob Iger and Josh Kushner set to take over, the Lakers were already being linked to upgrades on the wing and in the frontcourt.
Thompson, a four-time NBA champion, has emerged as one of the names tied to the Lakers in trade chatter. But his own comments make one thing clear: he wants to be in a spot where winning is on the table.
The Mavericks guard-forward recently told PlaqueBoyMax on a Twitch stream that he wants a chance to compete for a title and play a meaningful role on a team capable of making a deep playoff run.
Mavericks G/F Klay Thompson says that he wants to compete for a championship, not necessarily win one, but have the chance to compete and try and win a title and play a role on a team that can make a deep playoff run #MFFL (🎥: @PlaqueBoyMax Twitch) pic.twitter.com/gEpG18RDhi
That leaves the door open for plenty of speculation, especially with the Lakers still sorting out what their next version looks like around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The team has brought in several new players, but whether that group can be viewed as a true contender for the 2026-27 NBA season is still very much up in the air.
There’s also been reporting that Thompson would be open to returning to his hometown late in his career, following the path of his father, Mychal Thompson, who won two titles in Los Angeles alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Whether Klay sees the Lakers as the right fit now is another question entirely.
For the moment, the biggest issue is uncertainty. With the franchise in flux and no clarity on who will be making the calls in the front office, the Lakers are still in roster-building mode.
They also need to get down to the league’s 15-player maximum before opening night on Oct. 21.
Whether that happens soon or later remains unclear, and there’s no urgency yet on any deal involving Thompson or Jonathan Kuminga in a sign-and-trade. For now, the wait continues as the Lakers try to finish shaping the roster for the 2026-27 campaign.
In Other News...
Lakers Still Have One Big Center Problem After Walker Kessler Trade
The Lakers made a major swing for Walker Kessler, sending multiple future first-round picks to Utah in a move that should give them a young, defensive anchor in the middle. They also sent Deandre Ayton to Washington and brought in veteran Kevon Looney on a one-year deal, reshaping the center rotation in a hurry and signaling that the front office wanted a different look after the trade.
Even with those changes, the depth chart still has a familiar soft spot. Los Angeles has not added another true backup center, and the lack of attractive trade pieces makes upgrading that spot harder than it sounds. Looney is the name most likely to fill the role for now, but the Lakers are still carrying a real question behind Kessler, and it is the kind of roster issue that can linger long after the headline move fades. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Ownership Change Could Upend The Plan Around Luka Doncic
The Lakers are heading into a period of uncertainty after a major ownership shift, with the franchise set to move from Mark Walter to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. Walters run brought sweeping front office and roster changes, along with a strategy that borrowed heavily from the Dodgers model of organization and player building, so this is not a minor handoff of the keys but a potential reset of how the team does business.
What comes next matters because the Lakers have already been operating with a clear identity under Walter, and there is no guarantee the new group will want to keep that same blueprint intact. For a team trying to plan around Luka Doncic, the bigger question is whether any change in direction will be smooth enough to keep the long-term picture stable, or sharp enough to force new uncertainty around his future decisions. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Roster Crunch Could Force A Tough Move For Frontcourt Help
The Lakers are running into the kind of roster squeeze that can turn even routine frontcourt shopping into a complicated balancing act. With one player over the limit, the front office has to clear space before making any meaningful move, and that means decisions around names like Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy or Bronny James could come into play as the team tries to sort out its depth chart.
What makes it more interesting is the fit the Lakers are chasing. Backup center remains a clear need, and the team has already looked at a few different options as it tries to bolster the middle without losing flexibility elsewhere. One scenario on the table would fold that search into a larger three-team arrangement, giving Los Angeles a path to address both the roster crunch and its frontcourt depth in one shot, but the details still have to line up before anything becomes official. [Read more 🡒]