NBA exec offers reality check on ‘big change’ for Lakers this offseason

The Los Angeles Lakers have a chance to improve their roster this offseason, and they’re projected to have cap space with a ton of players – including LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and possibly Austin Reaves – set to hit free agency.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that L.A.’s roster is going to be overhauled this summer.

“So, yes, the Lakers have cap space,” Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney wrote. “But there are not that many free agents to bring in, and in the end, the feeling is that the Lakers will use their space as a facilitator to either acquire more assets or bring in a good role player.”

There is a reportedly a “sense” that the Lakers like the players they currently have and could bring a lot of key pieces back from the 2025-26 team.

“Yes, when it comes to the Lakers this summer, there will be chatter around the major trade chips that will be discussed–Donovan Mitchell, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, you name it,” Deveney wrote. “But around the league, the sense is that the Lakers like the players they have and could mostly bring back the key pieces to the 2025-26 roster.

“That means LeBron James (probably the biggest wildcard) and Austin Reaves stay put. It means that, if Rui Hachimura does not get a jaw-dropping offer, he could come back. Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard are maybes, depending on their offers. Bronny James and Jaxson Hayes? Probable. Same with Deandre Ayton, who might not opt out of his contract.

“Now, that does not mean the Lakers will do nothing. As one NBA executive said, ‘They’re going to find a big man, I think that is their line in the sand. That’s probably the big change there, it’s the thing they’ve been talking about for the last few years, really.’”

The Lakers may simply want to fix the hole at center that has plagued them since they traded away star big man Anthony Davis.

“The Lakers have high hopes for the offseason,” Deveney wrote. “But realistically, the exec notes, ‘You’ve got to take what’s there on the market for you. I think they understand they have a good team, they just need a guy who can be a star in his role at center.'”

Ayton started a majority of games at center for the Lakers in the 2025-26 season. He could test free agency this offseason since he has a player option. The Lakers also have to make a decision on Hayes, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent. As Deveney noted, both could return, but that wouldn’t necessarily prevent the team from also pursuing a better option at center.

Since Los Angeles traded Davis in the deal that brought star guard Luka Doncic to the franchise, it hasn’t had a true star big. Adding that to a roster that could feature Doncic, James and Reaves in the 2026-27 season may be enough to push the Lakers into contention.

However, if the Lakers plan on retaining many of their key rotation pieces from the 2025-26 season, it doesn’t leave much room for them to take a major swing for a star player like Antetokounmpo, Mitchell or Brown in the offseason.

The Lakers finished with the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference in the 2025-26 season, and there’s a chance they would’ve made a deep playoff run had Doncic (hamstring) and Reaves (oblique) not been hurt.

Hopefully, the Lakers will make some upgrades to the roster in the offseason as they look to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and others for superiority in the Western Conference.