Sandro Mamukelashvili Reportedly Signs Lakers Contract After Kessler Trade, Full Details in NBA FA

The Los Angeles Lakers are replenishing their frontcourt depth by adding Sandro Mamukelashvili to join the incoming Walker Kessler.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Mamukelashvili has agreed to a four-year, $52 million contract with a player option for the final season to join the Lakers.

Mamukelashvili's deal came soon after the Lakers agreed to a sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz for Kessler, who will join Los Angeles on a four-year, $130 million contract.

These moves for the Lakers come after learning they were going to have more than $50 million in cap space following LeBron James' announcement on Tuesday that he would not be returning to Los Angeles next season.

One area the Lakers had an obvious need to fill was at the center position. Deandre Ayton's opt-in to his $8.1 million salary for next season was not going to be the answer after his disappointing 2025-26 campaign in Hollywood.

Kessler is something of a wild card coming off a season in which he played just five games for the Jazz due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. It's not hard to imagine how he fits as a lob threat playing with Luka Dončić.

Mamukelashvili is also an obvious plug-and-play addition for the Lakers. The 27-year-old had a breakout 2025-26 with the Toronto Raptors, averaging 11.2 points per game and shooting 38.9 percent from three on 3.7 attempts.

A floor-stretching big man joining a roster with Kessler, Dončić and Austin Reaves makes the Lakers look more well-rounded than they did last season. They have also agreed to deals with Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton to fill out their bench.

The top of the Western Conference is stacked between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, but the new-look Lakers should slot squarely into that second tier with teams like the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets.

If things break in their favor next season, the Lakers have the star power and depth to make a deep playoff run in their quest to win an NBA title for the first time since the 2019-20 season.