Lakers Reportedly Preserving Cap Space for 2027, Plan to Pursue Max Contract Players

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly plan to have a conservative offseason as they prepare for the future.

Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Los Angeles "exercised discipline in its negotiations" with free agent forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who ultimately signed with the Houston Rockets on Monday. The team is reportedly looking to save cap space for 2027, when it hopes to add a max-salary free agent.

In the wake of Finney-Smith's departure, the Lakers gained access to the $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. They proceeded to spend part of that exception to sign Jake LaRavia to a two-year, $12 million deal.

It's clear the Lakers won't be spending big this offseason, but they still have some issues to address to field a championship-caliber team next season. The main area that needs improvement is Los Angeles' frontcourt, which lacks depth despite the addition of LaRavia.

The Lakers need to add a center, and ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Monday that the team could end up adding two before the end of the week. Some options whom Windhorst threw out were Clint Capela and Deandre Ayton.

Capela signed with the Houston Rockets on Monday, though CapSheets.com's Yossi Gozlan noted that the mid-level exception that the Rockets used to sign Finney-Smith won't also cover Capela, so a sign-and-trade could be on the way.

The Portland Trail Blazers bought out Ayton on Sunday, making him free to sign with whatever team he chooses once he clears waivers at 5 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Both Capela and Ayton would be upgrades from the Lakers' current center options. Since they would come at a relatively affordable price, Los Angeles could bring them in without abandoning its goal of putting together a big offseason in 2027.