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Sports Illustrated

Sport

Ryan Phillips

Lakers Offseason Preview: Free Agency, Draft Assets, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and More

LeBron James Austin Reaves Lakers LA (Organization) Luka Dončić NBA Rob Pelinka Deandre Ayton Jaxson Hayes Luke Kennard

It’s going to be a long offseason for the Lakers.

After an up-and-down season, L.A. found its groove in late February and reeled off 16 wins in 18 games to move itself near the top of the Western Conference. It appeared that Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Co. had finally figured out how to play together. The Lakers became a dark-horse NBA title contender, and it was fully believable. Then it came crashing down.

Twin injuries to Dončić and Reaves suffered in an April 2 game against the Thunder sent the team reeling. James and the rest of the squad showed tremendous grit by beating the Rockets in six games during the opening round. Reaves returned from an oblique injury but struggled to find his rhythm, and with Dončić sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Lakers never had a chance against the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. They put up a valiant effort in Game 4, but were swept by the defending champs.

The team will be stuck wondering what might have been if injury luck had been its side.

L.A. faces an uncertain future as it has several key free agents and a big chunk of cap space entering the offseason. This summer will be an opportunity to fully turn the team over to Dončić and remake it in his image. But it's hard to forget the 18-game stretch when he meshed so well with Reaves, James and the rest of the Lakers. Could they decide to run it back? More importantly, should they? That is one big decision among many others that the team has to make in the next few months.

Here’s a preview of L.A.’s offseason and what general manager Rob Pelinka faces moving forward.

Lakers’ 2026 free agents

The Lakers have two of the NBA’s biggest offseason decisions to make. One seems obvious, while the other is pretty murky. James is an unrestricted free agent, while Reaves holds a player option for $14.9 million that he is almost certain to turn down. What Pelinka decides to do with those two will set the tone, not only for this offseason, but also for the future of the franchise. The Lakers have $107.5 million committed for next season, with the cap set for $165 million, and the first apron sitting at $209 million. There is plenty of room to work with.

Unrestricted free agents

LeBron James
Rui Hachimura
Luke Kennard
Maxi Kleber
Jaxson Hayes

Player options

Austin Reaves
Deandre Ayton
Marcus Smart

Team options

Nick Smith Jr.

Restricted free agents

Chris Manon
Drew Timme
Lachlan Olbrich

James has expressed a desire to remain in Los Angeles, which makes sense since his son plays for the Lakers and his family is firmly ensconced there. His other son, Bryce, is playing in college at Arizona. The Lakers have publicly said all the right things, and given LeBron’s relationship with JJ Redick, it would make sense to cut a deal and bring him back, especially after his phenomenal work in the postseason. That said, there is no way L.A. will commit $50-plus million to a guy who will turn 42 in December. If James were willing to take less money to help the team stock up on players around him, a deal seems likely.

As for Reaves, he had the best season of his career by far, is a fan favorite and works well with Dončić. Reaves set career highs in points (23.3) and rebounds (4.7), while adding 5.5 assists and shooting 36.0% from three-point range. He’s likely a max player at this point, so the Lakers have to decide if it’s worth it to continue his partnership with Dončić or if they should move on. The lack of high-end guards available this summer makes it feel like Reaves will be back.

There are other decisions to make, too. Deandre Ayton revived his career a bit this season by averaging 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds and playing in 72 games. He’ll likely opt out of the the $8.1 million player option he has for next season in search of a multiyear deal. Rui Hachimura became one of the best shooting forwards in the NBA this season after hitting 44.3% of his threes. He’s likely to take someone’s mid-level exception. Reddick would likely love to bring back a shooter of Luke Kennard’s caliber, but he may price himself out of L.A.

Jaxson Hayes just finished his third season as a backup center in L.A. and is a strong candidate to return on a cheap deal as well.

Draft assets

The Lakers own their first-round pick this year, a rarity in recent years. It is set to be the 25th selection.

They sent their second-rounder (No. 54) to the Raptors in 2020 along with JaVale McGee, in exchange for Jordan Bell and Alfonzo McKinnie. It now belongs to the Warriors, who received it in exchange for Trayce Jackson-Davis at the trade deadline this year.

L.A.’s 2027 first-rounder was traded to the Jazz as part of a three-way deal with the Timberwolves that brought D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in, while sending Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and this pick to Utah. The selection now belongs to Memphis.

LeBron James, Austin Reaves returns dominate plans

What the Lakers decide to do with James and Reaves will color their entire offseason. The path of least resistance is to give Reaves a big deal that will take him through his prime years, while re-signing James at a discount, then going hunting for upgrades across the roster.

What L.A. needs around Dončić are the kind of three-and-d wings with length most contending teams have, and a mobile center who can work in pick-and-roll with their star point guard. Improving the defense with length on the wings and rim protection should be the focus.

The team belongs to Dončić now, and it must be built to accommodate him in every way. Shooters and size need to be the order of the day moving forward.

Pelinka has a lot of big decisions to make in what will be the most consequential offseason the Lakers have faced since they signed James in 2018. The moves he makes will chart the course of the franchise’s future for years to come.