Los Angeles Lakers' Top 3 Priorities During 2026 NBA Offseason
The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James made a strong postseason showing without Luka Dončić, falling quickly in the second round to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Now, heading into the offseason, the franchise has serious roster questions to ponder.
Before Dončić's hamstring injury that kept him out for the team's abbreviated postseason run, the Lakers were rolling through an impressive March for what looked like the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Still, L.A. remains a second-tier contender behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
What are the Lakers' offseason priorities as they aspire to join the West's elite?
3. Use Cap Room on ?
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The Lakers project to be one of three teams with significant spending power this summer, competing with the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls for free agents. It's too early to know outright how the landscape will shift with the draft, trades, player options, and other factors, but the Lakers should have the means to chase talent.
So, if Los Angeles has over $50 million to spend, who will the team target? Unlike the Nets and Bulls, the Lakers are closer to the "win now" mindset. The answer could be using that trade flexibility to try to acquire players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trey Murphy III, or other impact talent that shakes free.
In free agency, the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets may not be able to afford restricted free agents Peyton Watson and Tari Eason, respectively. Andrew Wiggins can opt out of his final year with the Miami Heat. Lu Dort has a team option with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers' own Rui Hachimura will be unrestricted in July.
The top available big men, Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, and Mark Williams, are all restricted. The Lakers should avoid older veterans like Nikola Vučević and oft-injured Kristaps Porziņģis. Players like Mitchell Robinson or Isaiah Hartenstein could make sense, though the Thunder have a team option to keep Hartenstein should they choose. Keeping Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes to upgrade on the wing may be the more natural solution for the Lakers.
The best guards include Ayo Dosunmu, Quentin Grimes, Coby White, Anfernee Simons and Collin Gillespie. L.A. also needs to decide on Marcus Smart (player option), Luke Kennard, and one of the Lakers' own top free-agent guards...
2. Re-sign Austin Reaves
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Reaves went down around the same time as Dončić with a strained oblique. His return in Game 5 wasn't enough to turn the tide against the Rockets. Still, Reaves provided strong production for the Lakers, averaging 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. His creative on-court chemistry with Dončić was often too much for opponents to handle.
He'll opt out of his $14.9 million final year to explore free agency, prioritizing the Lakers, provided the team is willing to meet his price, which should range from $30 million to $41.3 million in the first season. A compromise may start around $35 million, for three to five seasons.
As a free agent, Reaves projects to take up $26.5 million of the team's cap room. After the franchise uses its spending power to build out the roster, then Reaves re-signs on a new deal at the higher figure.
The Lakers' competition looks like the Brooklyn Nets or Chicago Bulls, as the only teams expected to have the means to pay Reaves, though it's unclear if they are interested. L.A. could also sign-and-trade Reaves to another franchise entirely if all three parties agree.
1. Decision on and from LeBron James
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James was masterful to start and finish the first-round series against the Houston Rockets. Throughout the middle, he showed signs of wearing down before L.A.'s wild comeback in the last 30 seconds of Game 3, heading into difficult Games 4 and 5. The Thunder were just too much for the Lakers to handle.
Still, at 41, the league's oldest player, James is still a dominating force. Now that his contract with the Lakers expires after June, what does he want to do next? Will he retire? Does he want to stay with the Lakers, Dončić, and Reaves as the team's third offensive option as one of the most glorified role players in NBA history?
The Lakers have indicated that they would like James to retire with the franchise, but do they really want him back and at what price? The free agent and trade pursuits are primarily predicated on James' $52.6 million coming off the team's books. Otherwise, the team is probably just bringing back the same second-tier roster.
James could be back at a much lower number or leave for other opportunities. The Lakers' entire offseason plan depends on that decision.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X @EricPincus and Bluesky.
