The Los Angeles Lakers are open to the idea of reshaping their roster within the first 20-25 games of the 2025-26 season, which includes making a blockbuster trade or two, if things don’t go as planned.
Rob Pelinka, the team’s President of Basketball Operations, made it clear during his press conference on September 25 that the Lakers are not afraid to swing for the fences.
“The goal remains the same: to put Lakers players on the court that can try and win this team a championship,” Pelinka told reporters. “And that’s what we’re committed to. We feel like we have the optionality that if we’re not seeing that in the first 20 to 25 games, then we can look to make moves to meet that goal.”
Lakers Open to Using Draft Capital
The Lakers have only one tradeable first-round pick (2031 or 2032) and one second-round pick (2032) to make any significant moves. Pelinka confirmed that the team won’t hesitate to use the draft assets if a blockbuster trade is in the offing.
“If a transaction comes to us that leads to sustain Lakers’ excellence and puts us in a position to increase our odds of winning a championship, we would put future draft capital in to make that move,” Pelinka stressed.
Pelinka reiterated that the Lakers will leave no stone unturned to surround Luka Doncic and LeBron James with the requisite pieces to bring home Banner No. 18.
“We’re excited about this group of players. We felt like we shored up some clear roster needs,” he said. “When you have LeBron James on your team and Luka Doncic on your team, every year is precious. We wanted to do all we can to maximize our opportunities to win another championship.”
Could Austin Reaves be a Trade Chip?
One of the biggest Lakers storylines to monitor this season is the future of Austin Reaves, who reportedly is set to turn down his player option worth $14.9 million to test free agency next summer. Reaves reportedly turned down a four-year, $89M extension from the Lakers this offseason as he eyes a deal in the range of $30M per season.
The Lakers, who could create up to $60M in cap space next season, may wait until the end of the 2025-26 season to assess if Reaves is worthy of a $30-$35M deal.
The Ringer’s Zach Lowe has also suggested that the Lakers could be forced to use Reaves’ expiring deal as a trade chip to improve the roster midseason.
“What if things just go very badly this season for Austin Reaves with the Lakers?” asked Lowe on the Bill Simmons podcast. “What if it’s like, ‘Oh, you asked me to come off the bench,’ extension talks, you know, they couldn’t really get started because you couldn’t offer me enough. But I’m not sure, ‘Do you really value me enough in a Luka world? LeBron is still here. Is he retiring? If he’s retiring, is that good for my future in L.A.?’ I’m just saying, like, there’s a world in which it goes.”
The Lakers begin their 2025-26 campaign against the Warriors on Oct. 21.
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