How LA Lakers Are Trying to Fix Biggest Roster Weakness
Before each of the last three seasons, B/R asked Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and head coaches Darvin Ham (previously) and JJ Redick (current) if the team had a traditional center and if they needed one.
Each time, the notion was shot down as lower-priority, although Pelinka later acknowledged this past season that the Lakers could use a big man with heft.
The in-season trade of Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for star guard Luka Dončić shifted the Lakers' fortunes. They followed that up by swinging a trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, although they backed out on the deal after he failed his physical.
That left them vulnerable on the interior, which the Minnesota Timberwolves exploited during their five-game series win over the Lakers in the first round of the 2025 playoffs.
Dončić is at his best with a reliable lob threat who can impact the game defensively as a rim protector. The Lakers absolutely have to fix that problem this offseason, and also consider deeper issues they'll face shifting from the LeBron James era to a future built around Dončić.
Spoiler: The most obvious target is Daniel Gafford of the Mavericks, but what if Dallas is unwilling to reengage with L.A. after the Dončić blowback?
Free Agent Role Players Likely Returning: DFS, Goodwin, Hayes
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The Lakers project to have a huge payroll next summer as long as James sticks around. Armed with a $52.6 million player option, he may opt out to re-sign at an even higher price ($54.1 million) on another two-year deal with a player option on the second season.
He could help the Lakers by taking a smaller salary, giving them more wiggle room under the second apron. But James generates a tremendous income for the team, the league and its broadcast partners. If anything, even the maximum salary for James is a discount.
You can also pencil in Dorian Finney-Smith back at a figure close to his player option ($15.4 million). His relationship with Dončić may make him a fixture with the franchise.
Assuming the Lakers retain Jordan Goodwin ($2.3 million team option), waive Shake Milton ($3 million non-guaranteed) and sign the 55th pick in June's draft to a minimum contract, their payroll will be $191.4 million with 12 players. That leaves them $16.5 million under the second apron (projected at $207.8 million) for any free agent acquisitions, with the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception as their primary spending tool.
L.A. also has Jaxson Hayes' early Bird rights, which allows them to pay him as much as $13.9 million as the starting salary on a new deal. That's higher than they'll budget for Hayes in a backup role, though.
Any other non-two-way players must be acquired on minimum deals or via trade.
The Weak Center Free Agency Market
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Only the Brooklyn Nets project to have significant cap room this summer. Still, much of the league can outspend the Lakers with the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
The center options in free agency aren't great. Myles Turner, who'd be the best fit, will get more to stay with the Indiana Pacers. The Houston Rockets won't lose Steven Adams to the Lakers at $5.7 million. Precious Achiuwa isn't part of the New York Knicks' rotation, but he's only 6'8" and 225 lbs. Andre Drummond is expected to pick up his $5 million player option with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Sixers forward Guerschon Yabusele has heft (265 lbs), but he's more of a 6'8" offensive player than the defensive lob threat whom the Lakers crave. Luke Kornet is solid, but don't let one big postseason performance with the Boston Celtics sway you into thinking he's a full-time NBA starter. And the Golden State Warriors will presumably retain Kevon Looney.
That may leave older veterans like Brook Lopez (37) and Clint Capela (31) as among the best available options. However, neither is that bouncy, so they should be considered short-term placeholders without a better answer.
The Lakers could instead chase younger bigs who might be able to fit the bill like Jericho Sims, Day'Ron Sharpe (potentially a restricted free agent) or some other off-the-radar candidate.
Straightforward Trade Targets
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Instead of chasing a center in a weak free-agent market, the Lakers may need to address their need through trade. The obvious option is Dončić's former teammate in Dallas.
Daniel Gafford is 6'10" and 265 pounds and is a two-way solution around the rim. He'll turn 27 in October and is heading into the final year of his contract with the Mavericks at $14.4 million.
The Lakers would have to send out at least that amount of salary to avoid getting hard-capped at the first apron ($195.9 million). The bait is widely believed in NBA circles to be 2024 No. 17 overall pick Dalton Knecht, the key player who was included in the scuttled Williams deal.
Knecht's salary ($4 million) isn't enough for Gafford without L.A. including one of Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million expiring), Maxi Kleber ($11 million expiring) or Jarred Vanderbilt ($11.6 million, with two additional seasons remaining).
Kleber, who arrived in L.A. alongside Dončić, played in only one game due to a foot injury. At 6'10" and 240 pounds, he could help the Lakers next year as a reserve, but he also may be expendable if they can add more frontcourt depth than just Gafford. Trading Vincent would open a spot for a defensive reserve point guard, while Vanderbilt is a multipositional (but offense-challenged) defender.
Assuming the L.A. can get Dallas to risk additional backlash, the Mavericks do not need those players. Instead, the Lakers might need to loop in a third and/or fourth team like the Orlando Magic, who could use a shooter like Knecht, or the Nets, who might take on expiring salary for draft picks and young players (perhaps Jett Howard from Orlando, son of Juwan Howard, an assistant coach in Brooklyn).
In short, the Lakers need to be creative and depend on others' participation to land a player like Gafford. The Utah Jazz seem intent on keeping Walker Kessler, who would be a tremendous get for L.A. Other potential straightforward targets at center include Nicolas Claxton from the Nets, Nikola Vučević from the Chicago Bulls and Williams from the Hornets.
If Hayes wasn't big enough, Claxton is almost twice as expensive and even lighter-bodied at 215 lbs. Vučević is probably too old for the Lakers (35 in late October), and since the Lakers already rescinded their trade for Williams, it'd be a stretch to revisit that path.
Detroit Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart II has heft (250 lbs) but is just 6'8". Orlando Magic reserve Goga Bitadze would be a welcome addition to the Lakers, but he's best served as a reserve. Should he opt in, others like Drummond would be a stopgap, not worth a prospect like Knecht.
Unless the Lakers can find a young, emerging player who's ready to pop if given the opportunity, the only other obvious, reasonable target to chase would be Jakob Pöltl of the Toronto Raptors. He'll turn 30 in October, buthe could handle the role for the Lakers for a year or two (he has a $19.5 million player option for 2026-27).
The Raptors are unlikely to part with him unless they can lock in a replacement starting center, perhaps via the No. 9 pick in this year's draft (like Duke's Khaman Maluach or Maryland's Derik Queen). Though even then, Toronto might want to retain Pöltl until the rookie acclimates to the NBA.
Big Fish
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At some point soon, the Lakers need to build properly around Dončić. That means thinking beyond James and possibly Austin Reaves.
Outside of the Lakers' distant movable future first-round pick (2031 or 2032) and any first-round swaps they can offer, Reaves is their most attractive trade chip. The soon-to-be 27-year-old just averaged 20.2 points per game this past season, which is remarkable for an undrafted player.
Reaves is nearly sure to decline his $14.9 million player option for the 2026-27 season to explore unrestricted free agency next summer, seeking a salary in the $30 million starting range. The most he can extend for ($19.5 million) is far short of that number. Any team acquiring him would need behind-the-scenes assurances that he'd re-sign at a pre-arranged price, although they wouldn't be technically legal or binding.
Should the Lakers combine Reaves, Knecht, expiring contracts and they limited draft capital they have left in the coffers, they could make a viable bid on a bigger name on the trade market. The larger question is what star-caliber big man becomes available in the next month or so.
Would Giannis Antetokounmpo force his way out of Milwaukee and dissuade other suitors to force a partnership in L.A. with Dončić?
The Memphis Grizzlies appear ready to go under the salary cap this summer, specifically to renegotiate and extend Jaren Jackson Jr., but does he turn that down to relocate to the West Coast?
Should the Miami Heat decide to reconstruct their roster, is Bam Adebayo's salary too expensive for what the Lakers are looking for? Would a Zion Williamson/Dončić pairing make any sense if the New Orleans Pelicans change direction?
The Lakers can always hope a player like Nikola Jokić wants something different, but how often does lightning like the shocking Dončić acquisition strike twice?
That third foundational piece may be attainable, but it would almost definitely come at the cost of Reaves, whatever else the Lakers have left to give and a tremendous amount of uncanny luck.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X @EricPincus and Bluesky.
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