Breaking Down Lakers Rumors on Remaining Plans for 2025 Offseason
As is the case for any team of their stature, the Los Angeles Lakers have been at the center of more than a few rumors this off-season centered on their attempts to better the roster and compete for an NBA title.
We have already seen the organization address its center issue by signing free agent DeAndre Ayton and bringing back the incumbent, Jaxson Hayes. They added Jake LaRavia and lost Dorian Finney-Smith to the Rockets.
The most significant off-season move came with LeBron James picking up his player option and returning for another year with the organization he helped lead to a title in 2020.
James remains at the forefront of reports and rumors, though, as some question how long he will be in town and if there is any trade interest in him and his massive, one-year deal.
That topic headlines this roundup of rumors from the City of Angels.
Is LeBron James Available?
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After the Lakers managed to pull of the trade of the century a season ago to acquire Luka Dončić, it would be foolish to suggest that any trade is off the table. Anyone can be replaced, traded away, or for, in hopes of returning Los Angeles to the NBA Finals and a shot at an 18th world title.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps reported that, while there were some "eyebrow-raised teams" who checked in on James' available, a trade is unlikely thanks to the future Hall of Famer's salary and no-trade clause.
James' deal will net him $52.6 million in 2025-26 so even if that no-trade clause did not exist, it would be incredibly difficult to find a trade partner willing to give up what the Lakers would want in exchange for a salary that massive and a player on an expiring deal.
That one would be hard-pressed to imagine the Lakers improving upon their three seed in the Western Conference from a year ago without the best player of his generation only makes it less likely that the team would be willing to offer him in a trade.
Could the Lakers Be After Another Superstar?
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The Milwaukee Bucks' decision to waive Damian Lillard at the start of free agency means the star point guard will have the opportunity to pick and choose which team he continues his career with when he returns from a torn Achilles.
According to Eric Nehm, Sam Amick, and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, the Lakers are one of the teams known to want to sign him to a deal sooner rather than later.
It is not difficult to see why Los Angeles would be interested in acquiring a star of Lillard's magnitude, especially coming off a season that ended with 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and a field goal percentage of 44.8.
Upon a closer look, though, he would be a tough fit for the Lakers.
The team is brimming with ball-dominant players, with Dončić, James, and Austin Reaves already on the roster and fueling the offense. It would be incredibly difficult to, first, find a spot for him in the system and, second, get him enough touches to keep him happy.
Of course, with James potentially playing his final season in Los Angeles amid an expiring deal, the door would conceivably open for Lillard to come aboard, but the questions that surround him and the level of player he will be after recovering from his devastating injury may be too great to justify taking that kind of risk.
While the Lakers love to make a big splash and ensure the franchise is never out of the headlines for too long, Lillard would give the team too much of one thing and not another, with attention needing to be paid to the defensive side of the ball.
Looking to the Future with Ryan Rollins
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Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype reported that the Lakers have shown interest in acquiring Ryan Rollins in free agency.
On the surface, there is not much special about Rollins' numbers for the 2024-25 season. He scored 6.2 points a game, averaged under two rebounds and assists, and shot 48.7 percent from the paint.
As Scotto noted, those numbers are deceiving when you consider how strong a performance he delivered in the starting lineup.
The 23-year-old guard out of Detroit averaged 10.2 points, shot nearly 48.6 percent from the floor and added 40.8 percent beyond the arc in the 19 games in which he started.
The Lakers have a $5 million exception and could easily get a deal done.
The question is whether they will have an option to considering the current state of the roster. Rollins would not get consistent starting time and would struggle to even see the floor in the first half of the season, barring injury. He would be a piece for the future, a young star who can come in, contribute when the opportunity presents itself, and hope to earn more playing time based on his performance.
That may be the best role for him, too.
Learning from LeBron and head coach JJ Redick so that, when the time comes, he can step into other role of guard and be as effective as the team needs him to be, should be a role he embraces.
Whether the Lakers are willing to outspend other potential suitors would ultimately determine how likely it is that they are able bring him aboard.
Regardless, with the team looking to the future and concentrating on a youth movement, he is exactly the type of player the front office should focus on.
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