Per Dan Woike of The Athletic, the Lakers see the 2026 free agency class as "weak" and trades are now the real path to building around Luka.
๐ธ Restricted FA options (Kessler, Duren, Williams, Eason, Watson) considered a "poor Plan A" โ current teams expected to match
๐ธ Lakers can be aggressive in trades up until June 30
๐ธ LeBron's Bird rights = the Lakers can operate as an over-the-cap team
๐ธ Their own FA's (LeBron, Reaves, Rui, Kennard, Ayton, Smart, Hayes) are among the BEST on the market
Pelinka's playbook: keep the core, trade for the upgrade. Forget free agency.
nytimes.com/athletic/7359073โฆ