The Lakers inside reinforcement plan this summer: Signing Lopez? Trade Gafford? Pursuing Antetokounmpo?

Translator's note: The original text was published in Bleacher Report. The data in the text were as of the time of publication (May 23 local time), and the date involved has been converted. The views in the article have nothing to do with the translator and the platform.

Before each of the last three seasons, Bleacher Report has asked Los Angeles Lakers general manager Robert Pelinka and head coaches Darwin Hamm (previous) and JJ Redick (current) whether the team has a traditional center and whether they need a center.

Every time, the idea is considered secondary, although Pelinka admitted later this season that the Lakers could use a big, big man.

The mid-season traded Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the operation of star guard Luca Doncic, which changed the fate of the Lakers. Later, the Lakers obtained Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams through a trade, but the Lakers canceled the deal after he failed the physical examination.

This makes the Lakers' inside line very vulnerable. The Minnesota Timberwolves took advantage of this in the first round of the 2025 playoff series that beat the Lakers 4-1.

If a player can be a reliable aerial relay threat and can influence the game on the defensive end as a franchise guard, Doncic can play the best performance in his partnering. This offseason, the Lakers must address this issue, and also consider the deeper issues they will face, namely the transition from the LeBron-James era to a future with Doncic at its core.

Spoilers: The most obvious target is Daniel Gafford of the Mavericks, but what if the Mavericks are unwilling to contact the Lakers again after the Doncic trade sparked controversy?

roles free agents that may be left behind: Finney Smith, Goodwin, Hays

As long as James continues to stay on the team, the Lakers are expected to have huge salary expenses in the summer. James, who holds a $52.6 million player option, may jump out of the contract and re-sign at a higher price ($54.1 million) to sign a two-year, second-year player option.

James can accept a lower salary to help the Lakers, which will give them more room to operate under the Second Luxury Tax Line. But James has brought huge revenue to the Lakers, the league, and its broadcast partners. It can even be said that even if James gets a maximum salary contract, this is a discount.

You can also expect Dorian Finney Smith to stay with the Lakers at a salary level close to his player option ($15.4 million), and his relationship with Doncic may make him a regular member of the team. Assuming that the Lakers leave Jordan Goodwin (a $2.3 million team option), cut Sheck Milton (a $3 million non-guaranteed contract), and sign a base salary with the 55th overall rookie after the June draft, their 12 players will have a total salary of $191.4 million. In this way, no matter which free agent the Lakers want to sign, they only have $16.5 million in space, and the total salary is below the second luxury tax line (estimated at $207.8 million), of which the $5.7 million luxury tax middle class special case will be their main way of quoting. The Lakers also have Jaxon Hayes' early bird rights, which allows them to offer him a new contract with a starting salary of up to $13.9 million. However, this is higher than the budget the Lakers reserved for Hayes as a substitute.

If you want to get any other non-two-way contract, the Lakers can only rely on basic salary contracts or transactions.

Center free agent market with scarce resources

Brooke Lopez is willing to return to the Lakers?

Only the Brooklyn Nets are expected to have obvious cap space this summer. Still, many teams in the league can take advantage of the $14.1 million non-luxury tax middle class exception to beat the Lakers in the quotes.

The center choice in the free agent market is not ideal. Miles Turner will be the best man, but he will get a higher salary and stay with the Indiana Pacers. The Houston Rockets will not put Steven Adams to the Lakers for $5.7 million. Presches Achouva is not a rotation player for the New York Knicks, but he is only 6-foot-8 inches (about 2.03 meters) tall and 225 pounds (about 102 kilograms). Andre Drummond is expected to execute his $5 million player option for the Philadelphia 76ers.

76ers forward Gaelson Yabuselle is sturdy (265 pounds, about 120 kg), but he is more like a 6-foot-8 (about 2.03 meters) offensive player than the defensive aerial threat the Lakers long for. Luke Cornett is doing a steady job, but don't think he's a qualified NBA starter just because of his outstanding performance in the Boston Celtics' playoff journey. As for Kevin Looney, he is likely to be left behind by the Golden State Warriors.

In this way, veterans like Brooke Lopez (37) and Clint Capela (31) become the best candidates in the existing choices. However, neither player has that good bounce ability, so they should be seen as short-term backups without a better option.

The Lakers can instead chase those big players who may meet the requirements and are younger, such as Jericho Sims, Deron Sharp (probably a restricted free agent) or other unknown potential candidates.

The straightforward trading target

Are the Mavericks willing to trade Daniel Gafford to the Lakers at the risk of causing additional controversy?

Rather than chasing centers in a resource-scarce free agent market, the Lakers may need to trade to address their needs. The most obvious choice is Doncic's former teammate in the Mavericks.

Daniel Gafford is 6 feet 10 inches (about 2.08 meters), weighs 265 pounds (about 120 kilograms), and is a key player on both ends of the basket. Garford will turn 27 in October and is about to enter the final year of his contract with the Mavericks, with a salary of $14.4 million. The Lakers will have to send out at least equal contracts to avoid triggering the hard salary cap limit on the First Luxury Tax Line ($195.9 million). In the NBA circle, it is generally believed that the Lakers' chips are the 17th overall pick in 2024, Dalton Kneckett, who was the key chip sent out in the previous trade of Mark Williams.

Knector's salary ($4 million) is not enough for Gafford unless the Lakers join the deal with one of Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million expiration contract), Maxi Cleber ($11 million expiration contract), or Jared Vanderbilt ($11.6 million with two seasons left).

Kleber came to the Lakers with Doncic, but he only played one game due to a foot injury. Cleber is 6 feet 10 inches (about 2.08 meters) tall and weighs 240 pounds (about 108 kg), and can help the Lakers as a substitute next year. But if the Lakers can improve the depth of the frontcourt (not just get Goverd), perhaps Cleber can be sacrificed too. Sending Vincent away will leave the Lakers without a defensive substitute point guard, while Vanderbilt is a player who can defend multiple positions (but has limited offensive ability).

Assuming that the Lakers can convince the Mavericks to trade at the risk of causing additional controversy, the Mavericks do not need those Lakers players. Instead, the Lakers may need to introduce a third and/or fourth team, such as the Orlando Magic, who may need a shooter like Kneckett, or the Brooklyn Nets who may take over some expired contracts for draft picks and young players (perhaps the son of Nets assistant coach Zhu Wan Howard, Jeter Howard from the Magic).

In short, the Lakers need to be creative and rely on other teams to get players like Gafford. Walker Kessler will bring great help to the Lakers, but the Utah Jazz seem determined to keep him. Other straightforward potential center targets include Brooklyn Nets' Nikola Clarkston, Chicago Bulls' Nikola Vucevic and Charlotte Hornets' Mark Williams.

If Hayes is not strong enough, Clarkston, who is almost twice his salary, is actually lighter, only 215 pounds (about 97 kg). For the Lakers, Vucevic may be too old (will be 35 years old at the end of October). And since the deal about Williams has been cancelled, it may be a bit far-fetched for the Lakers to reconsider this plan.

Detroit Pistons' inside player Isaiah Stewart is sturdy (250 pounds, about 113 kg), but he is only 6 feet 8 inches (about 2.03 meters). Orlando Magic’s substitute Goga Bitaze would be a popular addition to the Lakers, but he is best suited as a substitute. As for players like Drummond, they will be just a stopgap and are not worth trading with rookies like Knector.

Unless the Lakers can find a young and budding player who can explode as long as they have the chance, among the others, the only obvious and reasonable target will be Jacob Pearl of the Toronto Raptors. Peartel will turn 30 in October, but he can play the role for the Lakers in the next one to two years (he has a $19.5 million player option for the 2026-27 season). The Raptors are unlikely to give up Pelter unless they can lock in a starting-level center in his place, perhaps through their ninth overall pick this year (like Duke’s Carman Maruarch or Maryland’s Derek Quinn). Still, the Raptors may also want to keep Pelter before the rookie adapts to the NBA arena.

Big Fish

Do the Lakers have enough chips to participate in the bidding for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

The Lakers will soon need to build a proper team around Doncic. This means thinking past James, and perhaps even Austin Reeves.

In addition to first-round picks that can be used for trades many years (2031 or 2032) and any first-round pick swap rights that can be provided, Reeves is the Lakers' most attractive bargaining chip. The player, who is about to turn 27, averaged 20.2 points per game last season, which is amazing for a undraft.

Reeves will almost certainly turn down his $14.9 million player option for the 2026-27 season in order to seek an unrestricted free agent next summer and seek a contract with a starting salary of around $30 million. The maximum amount Reeves can get through renewal ($19.5 million) is much lower than that. Any team that gets Reeves needs to be privately guaranteed that he will re-sign at a pre-agreed price, although this is not in compliance with nor binding.

If the Lakers can combine Reeves, Kneckett, expiring contracts and their limited remaining draft assets, they can make a viable offer for a bigger player in the trading market. The bigger question is, in the next month or so, which big star players will be traded.

Will Giannis Antetokounmpo forcefully leave the Milwaukee Bucks and dismiss other suitors, so that he can establish a cooperative relationship with Doncic in the Lakers?

The Memphis Grizzlies seem ready to lower their cap this summer, specifically to renegotiate with Jaren Jackson Jr. and complete a contract renewal, but will he turn it down and head to the West Coast?

If the Miami Heat decide to rebuild their squad, is Bam Adebayo's salary too expensive for the Lakers? If the New Orleans Pelicans change direction, does the combination of Zion Williamson and Doncic make sense?

The Lakers will always want players like Nikola Jokic to pursue something different, but will lightning success happen twice for a shocking deal like Doncic? The Lakers may be able to get the third cornerstone player, but that will almost certainly come at the expense of Reeves, and all the other things the team can give up and huge luck.