The Lakers are under a full-on roster reconstruction.
And their latest move on Friday, trading Deandre Ayton to the Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two of Washington’s second-round picks (2031 and 2032), made clear another area they need to address while making it easier for them to reconfigure the roster.
Ayton joined LeBron James (next team to be determined), Marcus Smart (Rockets), Luke Kennard (Suns) and Jaxson Hayes (Jazz) as players from the Lakers’ 2025-26 squad who’ll be on another team next season.
Add in Rui Hachimura, who remains an unrestricted free agent and has multiple teams expressing interest in signing the 6-foot-8 forward, and there’s a strong likelihood the Lakers won’t return any of the players who started for them (Smart, Kennard, James, Hachimura and Ayton) in the first five games of their first-round playoffs series victory over the Rockets.
The players the Lakers are adding: Walker Kessler (four years, $130 million), Quentin Grimes (four years, $60 million), Sandro Mamukelashvili (four years, $52 million), Collin Sexton (two years, $19 million) and Hardy (two years, $12 million).
That’s in addition to re-signing Austin Reaves (four years, $185 million) and selecting Cameron Carr with the No. 24 pick of the draft and signing him to his rookie scale contract (four years, $16.8 million) on Thursday.
And with two roster spots, four tradeable draft picks and a little bit more financial flexibility at their disposal, the Lakers’ focus is on addressing the glaring holes on the roster.
What are the needs?
A backup big man behind Kessler and a defensive-minded wing/forward who, ideally, can start alongside Kessler, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and possibly Grimes.
As currently constructed, the Lakers are very guard/backcourt-heavy with Doncic, Reaves, Grimes, Sexton, Hardy, Carr and Bronny James, though Doncic, Grimes and Carr can play wing/forward positions.
Doncic, Mamukelashvili, Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, Adou Thiero and Jarred Vanderbilt are the lone players on the current roster listed between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-9.
Kessler, who’s 7-foot-2, is the lone player listed at 6-foot-10 or taller.
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Who are the targets?
Ironically, Ayton is better than the backup big man options currently available to the Lakers.
Veteran center Kevon Looney is an unrestricted free agents who the Lakers will consider signing.
Nick Richards, a 28-year-old big man entering his seventh season in the NBA, is also an unrestricted free agent.
The Lakers are also expected to consider Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas, who’s entering the final season of his three-year, $30.3 million contract that pays him $10 million in 2026-27.
Among these options, Looney is the center the Lakers must prioritize because of his proven abilities to contribute to winning teams and durability.
Los Angeles had significant interest in Andre Drummond as their backup center, but he signed a one-year, $3.9 million deal to join the reigning NBA champion Knicks.
On the wings, the Lakers are still exploring adding Jonathan Kuminga to their roster. Kuminga is drawing interest from other teams, but the unrestricted free agent forward is a significant priority for the Lakers.
Hachimura returning to the Lakers is still a possibility, but would be challenging since the Lakers don’t have much cap space left and had to relinquish Hachimura’s cap hold to make their other additions. He can likely join another team for a significantly higher salary.
Former Nets forward Ziaire Williams has been linked to the Lakers. Ochai Agbaji is another option on the wings who looms for them.
Other moves?
The Lakers are projected to have three tradeable second-round picks (Wizards two picks and their own 2033 pick) and a 2032 first-round pick swap they can include in a trade.
Expect for them to explore seeing if they can attach picks to one of their own players (specifically Vanderbilt) to free up financial flexibility and a roster spot.
They could also use those picks to acquire a player ready to contribute now.
And once LeBron makes his decision on his next destination, whether the Lakers will keep Bronny on the roster or trade him to LeBron’s next team will be the next domino to fall.
