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So, the Lakers still have time to do a deal, but people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter say teams have little interest in guards Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht, the two most prominent players the Lakers seem to be pushing.
The current timeline is adding to a roster with Doncic, James and Reaves while focusing on financial flexibility in future years. The Lakers have over $40 million of expiring contracts consisting of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber. They also have a 2031 or 2032 first-round pick to trade if needed. The future timeline is building a roster around Doncic and Reaves. With Doncic under contract for the next three seasons, the Lakers could have up to $50 million in cap space this offseason and nearly double that amount in 2027. They will also have three first-rounders (2026, 2031 and 2033) available to trade starting the night of the draft.
The Los Angeles Lakers have gauged the trade market looking for 3-and-D wing help, with targets ranging from Herb Jones to Andrew Wiggins to Jonathan Kuminga to Saddiq Bey, etcetera. With that in mind, the Lakers have dangled the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura ($18.26 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million), and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) on the trade market, league sources told HoopsHype.
In the past month, league sources told ESPN the Lakers have canvassed teams to see whether they could find a deal to send out their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick in order to get multiple firsts back for it. Being armed with more tradable picks would give L.A. more options this trade season, beyond the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber.
LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber and Jaxson Hayes are in the final year of their contracts. Austin Reaves has a player option for next season, but he’s expected to see what he can earn in free agency. The Lakers can offer him the most — up to five years and $241 million. Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart also have player options. When a team is going through some struggles — much like the Lakers, who are just 7-8 since Reaves went down with a calf injury on Christmas — playing time and points can become major issues for players looking for new contracts. “I’ve been here for four seasons now and every year it’s almost the same but it’s different,” Rui Hachimura said. “You have to survive too, so I get it, I understand it. I think we talked about before the season winning is going to help. So, we got to focus on that and everything is going to come out.”
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In a recent episode of “The Kevin O’Connor Show,” Kevin stated that the Lakers are trying to send out Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent in an attempt to acquire a wing. Kevin O’Connor: “With the Lakers, the word on the street is that they’re looking to package Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent together for a wing.”
The Lakers have been making calls to acquire perimeter help and rim protection, league sources said. And between Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber, the front office has about $40 million in expiring contracts to send out in trades. But the Lakers are operating in two timelines. They want to maximize the end of 41-year-old LeBron James' career, but swapping out expiring contracts for short-term help could hinder their ability to reshape their roster around Luka Doncic. If James moves on or retires after the season, the Lakers could re-sign Austin Reaves and still have $50 million in cap space.
Kevin O’Connor: With the Lakers, the word on the street is that they're looking to package Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent together for a wing. Now, the really interesting thing with them is they've been shopping around their future 2032 first-round pick for multiple first-round draft picks, similar to what the Suns did a year ago when they traded their 2031 pick to the Jazz for three lesser firsts in 2025, 2027, and 2029. So, it seems like the Lakers are looking out for two or three future first that are worse individually than their future first, which giving them more parts to put together in like Vincent plus Vanderbilt or Vincent plus Kleber types of packages. And so, the Lakers are definitely looking for a wing. I think they definitely have interest on Herb Jones. Probably too pricey. Trey Murphy, Jonathan Kuminga, maybe the Warriors, maybe as a third team. Maybe we're gonna see a situation, Tom, where Kuminga gets sent to the Lakers for filler plus a pick and then the Warriors send that pick plus other assets to go get a Michael Porter Jr. or a Trey Murphy or something like that. But that's my understanding right now with what the Lakers are angling to do with their with their future picks and with the guys on the existing roster.
The Lakers have upgraded Gabe Vincent (lumbar back strain) to available for Wednesday’s game against San Antonio.
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Dave McMenamin: Gabe Vincent (lower back strain) has been downgraded to out tonight in New Orleans, the Lakers announced
Dave McMenamin: Gabe Vincent has been upgraded to questionable Tuesday vs NOLA, per the Lakers
