Lakers outline post-LeBron blueprint: building around Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves’ price tag and a 2027 spending spree
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Los Angeles — The Lakers believe Luka Dončić’s new three-year, $165 million extension, signed Saturday, marks the starting point of a long-term roster overhaul. The 26-year-old guard arrived from Dallas in February and told president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick during a May dinner that he has no interest in a slow rebuild. “I don’t want to wait,” Dončić said, according to a source present. “I had a taste of the Finals. I am getting back there. So, let’s do whatever we can now.”
Immediate roster priorities
Analytics show Dončić thrives with two specific player types: vertical, rim-running centers and elite spot-up shooters.
- According to xRAPM data, Dončić and rookie center Dereck Lively II produced the NBA’s third-best on/off impact among active duos last season in Dallas.
- Since entering the league, Dončić ranks second in assisted dunks per 100 possessions and first in corner three-point opportunities created, per GeniusIQ tracking.
Los Angeles currently has limited shooting. Only Rui Hachimura and reserves Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht have hit corner threes above the league average over the past five years. Pelinka can find additional marksmen inexpensively — Luke Kennard signed a one-year, $11 million deal with Atlanta; Norman Powell was traded for a minimal return; Seth Curry remains unsigned — while players such as Grayson Allen or Sam Hauser are viewed as attainable via trade.
Reliable big men are scarcer. The club used the non-taxpayer midlevel exception on Deandre Ayton, who was a steady pick-and-roll partner for Chris Paul in Phoenix but offers less vertical pop than Lively and has drawn questions about effort. Some in the organization argue Dončić can elevate any rim runner; others prefer chasing an All-Star center.
Austin Reaves heads next summer’s to-do list
While speculation swirls around LeBron James, league executives point to 27-year-old guard Austin Reaves as Los Angeles’ toughest contract decision. Reaves averaged 20.2 points and 5.8 assists last season on 37% career three-point shooting. Multiple front-office sources told ESPN he is expected to command “$30 million-plus” annually when he hits free agency next July.
Reaves struggled in April’s first-round loss to Minnesota, shooting 31.9% from deep and averaging nearly three turnovers. A Western Conference assistant coach called the upcoming season “huge” for Reaves in proving he can be Dončić’s long-term back-court partner.
Cap sheet, trade chips and draft picks
Because the Lakers used the midlevel exception, they are hard-capped at the first apron and cannot fill their 15th roster slot until Jan. 18. Contracts for Hachimura, Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent expire after this season, totaling $40 million, giving Pelinka flexibility in trade talks once Dec. 15 restrictions lift.
Draft capital is thin. Los Angeles can trade only one first-round pick — 2031 or 2032 — until the 2026 offseason, when a second becomes available. Nonetheless, the front office projects up to $45 million in cap space next summer if James, Hachimura, Kleber and Vincent are off the books and Reaves declines his $14.9 million player option.
Imagem: espn.com
The 2027 jackpot
The organization’s bigger play is 2027, when cap room could approach $100 million and a star-studded free-agent class — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokić, Karl-Anthony Towns, Donovan Mitchell and former Laker Anthony Davis — can reach the market. Executives caution, however, that the current collective bargaining agreement gives incumbent teams powerful extension advantages, as evidenced by this summer’s wave of early re-signings.
LeBron’s crossroads
James, 40, opted into his $52.6 million salary for 2025-26 and holds a full no-trade clause. Pelinka said the franchise will “respect his timetable,” but ideally James would re-sign on a one-year pact to preserve 2027 flexibility. A trade demand is considered unlikely and logistically difficult: Cleveland is deep into the second apron, Dallas would have to move half its roster, Golden State lacks matching mid-range contracts, and New York would need to send Karl-Anthony Towns’ $53.1 million salary and inherit $118 million in commitments.
If James reaches free agency next July, the Clippers could create max space, while contenders such as Cleveland, New York and Dallas would be limited to the veteran minimum and Golden State to the non-tax midlevel exception. By that point, James’ career on-court earnings will top $584 million, leaving open the question of whether a fifth championship or another payday will drive his decision.
The Lakers, meanwhile, continue to juggle immediate roster tweaks with an eye on a potentially transformational summer two years down the line.
Source: ESPN
