Lakers Rumors on Marcus Smart, Trades, Free Agency for Luka amid LeBron, Reaves Contract Decisions
The Los Angeles Lakers might look quite a bit different on the court when they open the 2026-27 NBA season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder completed their sweep of the Lakers with a 115-110 victory on Monday night, sending Los Angeles into what will be a pivotal offseason. The Athletic's Dan Woike and Sam Amick reported that "running it back with a mostly similar roster isn't a palatable option."
Veteran guard Marcus Smart is one player who could be out the door. Woike and Amick reported the Lakers would like to retain him, but he could decline his player option and hit free agency.
The NBA insiders explained how the franchise pledged to star Luka Donฤiฤ it would "give him a locker room full of his type of players, to find him replicants, if not improvements" on the Dallas Mavericks squad that reached the 2024 NBA Finals:
"Those priorities remain, according to league sources. There is a desire for better center play, true lob threats who mimic the skills of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II (with cleaner injury histories). There is a desire for true two-way defensive players, wings with athleticism and energy on the defensive end and a sweet shooting stroke on the offensive side of the ball. And there's a desire to lock in a long-term secondary playmaker next to Donฤiฤ."
Depending on what they do with Austin Reaves and LeBron James, the Lakers are unlikely to be flush with salary cap space. As a result, one or multiple trades could be the best avenue for general manager Rob Pelinka to get the biggest upgrades.
"Team and league sources have said they expect the Lakers to be aggressive on the trade market," per Woike and Amick.
They cited the New Orleans Pelicans' Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones as past targets, and L.A. could make a run at Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It's not like the pressure on Pelinka is much different than it has been in years past. From the moment James signed with the Lakers in 2018, winning a championship became the objective every season.
But Los Angeles' inability to repeat its 2020 Finals triumph is sure to put Pelinka under a bigger microscope.
The Lakers went through plenty of iterations as the front office built around James and Anthony Davis. They tried bringing in another star, and the Russell Westbrook experiment was a failure. Improving the supporting cast and focusing on depth pieces didn't work either. Emphasizing continuity over new additions was similarly unsuccessful.
Now, the process is starting all over again with Donฤiฤ at the fore.
Donฤiฤ's extension gives L.A. a bit of a runway, but he can hit free agency as early as 2028. The sense of urgency will be acute this summer. If Pelinka is unable to find suitable reinforcements, Luka's future is going to cast a bigger shadow over the organization.
