The Lakeshow Review

2025 NBA Free Agency came out of the gates with a bang. Kevin Durant is now a Rocket. D’Angelo Russell is now a Maverick. Cam Johnson is now a Nugget. And Michael Porter Jr. is now a Brooklyn Net. Lots has changed in the past 24 hours. For the Lakers though, things seem to moving much slower, perhaps methodically. The organization has opted for a more lowkey approach, as opposed to the usual splashy affairs often associated with the Purple & Gold. I personally dig this new wrinkle to the team’s modus operandi. I like the fact that they’ve layed low and not tried to do too much, not trying to to fulfill someone else’s mandate, and so far, they seem to be staying on their own schedule at their own pace. As they should. As I’ve written before, this is not the offseason to panic. This is the offseason to start doing things responsibly, intelligently, and aggressively. It’s important to be able to compete now, while also having a firm grasp on the future in terms of flexibility. Unless something crazy pops up (another Luka trade), this should be the way moving forward. 

Yes, it’s somewhat worrisome to still not have a center under contract. The team can’t afford to walk into 2026 without a rotational-caliber big man. JJ Redick wouldn’t even start Jaxson Hayes during these last playoffs, so a clear upgrade must be in order. With that said, I believe the team is doing the right thing by taking as wait-and-see approach. This year’s free agent crop isn’t the strongest, furthermore, with the Lakers’ current cap situation, it doesn’t make sense for Rob Pelinka to parachute into NBA Free Agency and start dishing out contracts left and right. Patience is key. As things currently stand, LA projects to be slightly under the first apron ($195.5M) of the NBA salary cap, and well under the second apron ($207.8M). The team’s cap sheet will likely exceed the luxury tax threshold of $187.9M, which means they currently have limited avenues for adding talent via free agency. LeBron opting-in to his $52M player option for 2026 compounds things a bit further, as he takes up over 30% of the cap. The Lakers front office is currently trying to thread the needle between adding talent to the current roster in order to be competitive for the upcoming season, while also maintaining a strong commitment to preserving financial flexibility beyond 2026. Not an enviable task, but it is a clear and concise plan that is being implemented. How successful the team is at executing said plan remains to be seen, but is good to see the organization plan for the future and prioritize their own agenda instead of trying to appease that of other players’. 

The reason for the Lakers’ lack of big name activity could also be political in nature. With Mark Walter set to assume ownership of the franchise during the third or fourth quarter of 2025, after acquiring a majority stake for $10B, new leadership is about to take charge. Which will bring forth certain changes. Among those, presumably, will be a reshaping of the front office. The current brass led by Rob Pelinka may be getting “lame-ducked” in terms of adding significant salary, until Walter assumes full control later this year, and brings in his own people to run the show. We know that Walter likes to assemble a well organized and robust apparatus to run the day-to-day operations of his sports franchises, as he did upon purchasing the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. Walter appointed Stan Kasten as team president in 2012, and relieved then long-time Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti in 2014. Soon after, Andrew Friedman was hired to serve as President Of Baseball Operations. Walter also invested heavily in team facilities as well as scouting and analytics departments. Presently, the Dodgers are regarded as one of the best, if not the best run organization in the MLB. Walter’s MO when it comes to running sports teams seems to be that of setting up a well-oiled machine, and then hiring competent people to run it. If this bears true for his newly-minted Lakers, then big changes will be in store for the franchise’s close-knit mom and pop leadership. 

The Lakers have been in semi-stealth mode at the start of this summer’s free agency. The team’s only move so far has been inking 6”8 forward Jake LaRavia to a 2 year/$12M contract, after losing swingman Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets (4 years/$53M). LaRavia is a 23 year old who is a strong athlete with a skill set that spells good upside. He averaged around 7 points last season, to go with 4 boards and shot 47% from the field and 42% from beyond the arc. These numbers certainly don’t blow you away, although the shooting splits are very nice. But they’re good numbers from a 23 year old up-and-comer who the Lakers can possibly develop into a core rotational piece. These are the types of moves that LA should continue to make. Young, cost-controlled players with upside. Players that can bode well into the future while not hampering the team financially. The latter of which is essential under the current CBA. We know that new boss Mark Walter likes to assemble a top notch coaching staff, that includes expertise in player development. The notion of signing young, under-the-radar talent to team-friendly contracts in hopes of parlaying their talents into bigger roles on the team is a sound tenet to adhere to, particularly in the new, parity-driven and cap-restrictive NBA. 

The Lakers still have a hole at the center position, and one that shouldn’t go unaccounted for. Riding into this season without a center on the roster would be basketball suicide. On a team with Luka, even more so. But the team needs to be strategic about how they look to acquire a big man. They currently have limited options outside of what’s left of their $14M mid-level exception ($6M of which will be used on Jake LaRavia). They also presumably have a bi-annual exception that’s worth about $5M. The team is currently said to be waiting on Deandre Ayton (who was bought-out by Portland), and will use the roughly $8M remaining on the mid-level exception to sign him. Ayton would be a solid signing for LA, especially at that price. The Lakers will have competition for his services, particularly from the Indiana Pacers, who just lost big man Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks, leaving a void at their center position. Personally, I’m skeptical that Ayton would take the $8M that the Lakers can offer. At a cursory glance, Ayton seems to be a talent worth north of the $10M range, perhaps even more. Maybe he takes the Lakers’ deal, in hopes of rehabilitating his value and image (rumours have surfaced regarding his attitude and work ethic), with LA being the optimal destination to pursue those objectives. Or he might simply prioritize his offensive touches and overall spot on the pecking order, in which case he’d likely choose the Pacers, given their recent loss of Haliburton and their void at center. He would decidedly get more shots up in Indiana. We’ll see what transpires, but in any case the Lakers would be remiss to not have multiple options lined up, in the event that someone like Ayton doesn’t materialize. 

Beyond free agency, the Lakers will also look at trades to bolster their roster. However, without a single center on the roster, the team will likely find themselves on the losing end of the leverage game. Teams will look to extract max value and then some from Rob Pelinka who has yet to fill the center need for LA. This is why, on one hand, I think it has been unwise to have not used the mid-level exception, or some portion of it, to acquire a big man. Having one in hand would ensure that rival executives can’t view the Lakers as beggars. It’s a cut-throat business. Particularly after the Luka trade, it seems as though every front office’s imminent mandate is to fleece the Lakers. This is why patience is key, particularly in these scenarios. If there aren’t any good trades on the table, then don’t make any. No trade is better than a bad trade. With that in mind, it is important that the Lakers maximize the remainder of their mid-level exception (roughly $8M) or the bi-annual exception ($5M) to secure the services of a big man. One who can step into the rotation, stay healthy and be relatively productive. Not an increasingly high bar, but one that the front office must meet, seeing as how viable options like Clint Capela, Brook Lopez, Myles Turner and Luke Kornet are all off the table. Even if the Lakers are in fact building for the future, outright sabotaging the season by neglecting the center position would be a terrible look. Particularly as it pertains to the prospects of resigning Luka Dončić. 

Though nothing is ever perfect with the Lakers as of late, I can’t fault them for their approach so far. They seem to be employing better judgment as of late, by refusing to hand out picks or carelessly dangle assets, which might bite them in the future. As I’ve written before, center is the number one priority for the Lakers this summer. At least it should be. Getting one without disposing of the few remaining assets (Dalton Knecht, Austin Reaves, and future draft capital) is key. You want to have as much flexibility as possible beyond 2025-2026 when Mark Walter will have assumed full control of the franchise and hired his people. You certainly don’t want your cap books clogged for new ownership to clean up. We’ll see how the Lakers continue to approach this summer. I do like the idea of low risk, high-upside moves like LaRavia, and I also like the idea of trying to preserve their asset pool in order to have youth and flexibility moving forward. I just hope they don’t end up doing something stupid, like when they almost traded Knecht and multiple picks/pick swaps for Mark Williams. It’s my hope that Pelinka can pick up a center from the free agent crop and then trade for another one, without depleting the team’s assets. Beggars can’t be choosers, they say. But there’s no need to beg when you are resourceful. Let’s see what they do next. Go Lakers.