Free agency revolves around LeBron James.
Even at 41 years old with retirement still firmly on the table, James is at the front of the circus when league-wide negotiating opens Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Multiple reports emerged across the last 24 hours that the Golden State Warriors are attempting to bring James and Anthony Davis to play alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. The smoke turned up a notch on Monday when Draymond Green declined his $27.7 million player option, creating cap space for Golden State to try and turn a possibility into stunning reality. James, Green and Davis (still of the Washington Wizards) are all clients of Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul.
But Monday brought internal developments for the Lakers, with numerous decisions attached to the option deadline from last season’s starting lineup becoming official throughout the day.
Marcus Smart declined his player option for $5.4 million, multiple league sources confirmed to the Southern California News Group, which brings the veteran defensive stalwart who set the tempo of last year’s Lakers to the open market. The Stein Line, an independent NBA newsletter, first linked Smart to a potential multi-year deal with the Houston Rockets a few days ago – where Smart’s former coach with the Boston Celtics, Ime Udoka, now serves as head coach.
Much of the Lakers’ late-season success, including their 16-2 run through March, fell partly on the shoulders of Smart’s defensive intensity, which bled into the rest of the roster. After Smart helped the Lakers to overtime against the Rockets in Game 3 of the first round – forcing a late steal with 30 seconds left that allowed LeBron James to knot the game before ultimately winning the game – Lakers coach JJ Redick simply referred to what makes Smart a vital member of the team when asked about the 32-year-old guard.
“He’s a winner,” Redick said of Smart, who started 54 of 62 games played and averaged 9.3 points and 3.0 assists per game for the Lakers. “He makes winning plays.”
Now, the Lakers will have to prepare for the possibility that Smart and his winning plays are not returning, along with the defensive game plan void created in his wake. Quentin Grimes, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard who played for the Philadelphia 76ers for the last season and a half, could be an option for the Lakers.
There’s familiarity for Grimes with the heart of the Lakers: the 26-year-old played alongside Luka Doncic on the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024-25 season before the Slovenian star was traded to the Lakers and Grimes was traded to the City of Brotherly Love. Should the Lakers look for a player more defensive-minded, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade could be an option, albeit the 6-foot-9 role player isn’t a one-for-one fit for Smart.
Among the other options exercised, center Deandre Ayton opted into his $8.1 million salary for the 2026-27 season, ESPN first reported – setting the stage for the Lakers front office to have to decide how they want to approach the frontcourt in the weeks ahead.
Ayton thoroughly outplayed the first-year value of his deal, playing in a career-high 72 games while recording 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 67.1% shooting from the field. The 7-footer, who was the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, had a rollercoaster-like season as he adjusted to not being a leading option offensively. Ayton called the season “a lot of sacrifices” during his end-of-season media availability in May.
“I felt like I’ve grown in some areas where I never thought I was going to really grow up,” Ayton said. “Just accepting the challenge and the criticism, constructive criticism as well. And just being that guy the team wants me to be, no matter what it is.”
The Lakers, who should have between $45-51 million in cap space to work with as of Monday, are potentially the top team in the offseason searching to bolster the center position, leading to links to the likes of Utah Jazz restricted free agent Walker Kessler and Detroit Pistons restricted free agent Jalen Duren. Along with Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, who is also a restricted free agent, the trio is arguably the highest-profile free agents on the market not already heavily rumored to return to their respective franchises.
Among the Lakers who will become unrestricted free agents on Tuesday at 3 p.m. PT when negotiations are officially allowed to begin, swingman Luke Kennard and center Jaxson Hayes appear to be the most likely players to return to Los Angeles as key bench players. If James doesn’t return, the Lakers could comfortably afford to bring back forward Rui Hachimura as well – likely set to receive more than $20 million in annual average value for his next contract.