Four Offseason Moves Lakers Must Make To Win NBA Championship!

While the undermanned Lakers were swept by the defending champion Thunder, the series did give LA invaluable insights about how their roster matched up against OKC and what they need to do to become champs.

The Lakers didn’t view their second round playoff series with the Thunder as an impossible challenge but as a reward for upsetting the Rockets and an opportunity to get critical data to drive this summer’s decision making. That chance to play OKC has already paid off as LA now knows they’ll need a roster at least 10-deep with proven 3&D rotation players with the size, drive, and athleticism to physically hang with the Thunder and Spurs.

The Lakers’ strong regular season finish, miraculous upset of Houston, and inspired effort against OKC validated JJ Redick as LA’s coach of the future and confirmed that more than half of this year’s roster will likely return. Luka Doncic, Adou Thiero, and Bronny James are under contract and free agents LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, and Luke Kennard will likely be re-signed to new deals.

Deandre Ayton did not make the above list because he is not the rim protector or floor spacer the Lakers need or the right center to optimize Luka Doncic or survive playoff matchups vs. Holmgren or Wembanyama. If the Lakers really want to compete with the Thunder and Spurs for NBA championships, they‘re frankly going to need a better starting center than Deandre Ayton. That’s a problem LA’s had since trading Anthony Davis.

Strategically, the Lakers should seriously consider emulating the Thunder’s twin towers front court. Holmgren and Hartenstein totally bullied the Lakers’ center rotation in this series. LA needs to play 2 bigs to beat OKC. LA should also copy how OKC balances team speed and quickness by starting 3 guards next to their 2 bigs. Lakers should be looking at quicker, faster 3&D guards who are lock-down defenders instead of small forwards.

The Lakers enter summer with 3 tradable first round picks and $50M in cap space for other teams’ free agents. Here are the 4 offseason moves LA must make this summer for a realistic shot to win their 18th NBA Championship.

1. Trade for Myles Turner

Myles Turner, Center, 30-yrs, 6' 11", 250 lbs, 3yrs avg $28M 11.9/5.3/1.5/1.6/0/7 in 26.9 mpg, shooting 44%/38%/74%, 5.4 3PA pg

While Deandre Ayton played well enough to ensure his free agency value will exceed his $8M player option for next season, the Lakers know he’s not the ‘right’ fit for what they and Luka Doncic need from a starting center.

If the Lakers want to compete for championships with the Thunder and Spurs, then they will need a top-tier starting center who can hold his own against modern young bigs like Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama. The prototype center the Lakers should pursue is Myles Turner, who can protect the rim, space the floor, and matchup vs. Holmgren and Wemby. Turner should be available for matching salary and a first round pick.

The Lakers have long coveted Turner, who’s led the league twice and been in the top-10 in 8 times in last 10 years for blocked shots and who shot 40% and 38% from deep on over 5 attempts per game over the last 2 seasons. Replacing Deandre Ayton, who’s not an elite rim protector or floor spacer, with Myles Turner, who is an elite shot blocker and proven high percentage 3-point shooter, would be a long overdue move by LA to embrace analytics.

Right now, center is the Lakers’ weakest position when matched up vs. the Thunder’s Holmgren or the Spurs’ Wembanyama. LA has struggled with a lack of rim protection and floor spacing since they traded Anthony Davis. Trading for Myles Turner would immediately solve that problem and give the Lakers the modern NBA center they long coveted. LA could then use their #26 pick to draft his heir in 22-year old stretch center Henri Veesaar.

The first offseason move the Los Angeles Lakers should make to transform themselves into champions is to trade Vanderbilt, Knecht, LaRavia, and their 2033 first round pick to the Milwaukee Bucks for center Myles Turner.

2. Trade for Luguentz Dort

Luguentz Dort, Shooting Guard, 28-yrs, 6' 4", 220 lbs, 1-yr $18M 8.3/3.6/1.2/0.4/0.9 in 26.8 mpg, shooting 39%/34%/76%, 5.4 3PA pg

The Lakers most urgent defensive need the last few seasons has been for an elite point-of-attack perimeter defensive wing capable of shutting down the bigger lethal high-scoring shooting guards and small forwards in the West.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have team options for Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein that they cannot afford to exercise without facing severe penalties as max extensions for SGA, Williams, and Holmgren kick in. Sam Presti never likes to let players walk away for nothing and the Lakers have enough cap space to absorb Dort’s contract. Lakers should offer the Thunder their 2029 first round pick straight up in trade for Lu Dort.

Luguentz Dort would immediately step in as the point-of-attack defender and physical enforcer the Lakers need to start alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Like with OKC, Dort would be part of LA’s 3-guard starters. With the Lakers copying the Thunders 2-bigs and 3-guards starting lineup, Dort should be able to give LA the exact same contributions he gave OKC, elite 1-on-1 point-of-attack perimeter defense and reliable 3-point shooting.

While the Lakers had strong interest in restricted free agents like Denver’s Peyton Watson or Houston’s Tari Eason, Dort is a surer and less expensive first option to fill the Lakers critical starting small forward position. The other advantage of trading for Dort is his departure should hurt the Thunder’s defensive continuity if nothing else. OKC will likely replace him with a younger and potentially better option but that will take time.

The second move the Los Angeles Lakers should make this summer is to offer the OKC Thunder their 2029 first round pick straight up for elite 3&D wing Luguentz Dort to become LA’s starting small forward next season.

3. Sign UFA Keon Ellis

Keon Ellis, Shooting Guard, 26-yrs, 6' 4", 175lbs, 3-yrs avg $12M 6.7/1.9/1.0/0.6/1.2 in 20.5 mpg, shooting 44%/36%/73%, 3.5 3PA pg

Since the Lakers plan to copy the Thunder’s 2-bigs and 3-guards starting lineup, they will need an elite young and affordable 3&D shooting guard who can guard up to small forward when needed to backup Lu dort

At 6' 4” with the ability to defend up a position, Keon Ellis could be the perfect backup for Luguentz Dort as the third guard in the Lakers’ new 2-bigs and 3-guards lineups. Ellis, like Dort, defends bigger than he is. Having a smaller quicker guard who can defend up playing small forward is how the Thunder get away with starting and playing 2 bigs. The guards compensate for and balance the slower speed and quickness of the 2 bigs.

Ellis is coming off a disjointed regular season split between Sacramento and Cleveland. He finished the regular season with slightly lower stats then the season before and has only played sparingly so far in the playoffs. Keon Ellis is an elite point-of-atttack defender whose averaged over 1.0 steals in less that 20 minutes per game and can defend up as he has shown by playing 30% of his minutes with the Cavaliers as a small forward.

The Lakers need better quality depth to beat the Thunder. With a starting lineup of Doncic, Reaves, Dort, James, and Turner, LA will be able to match up much better with the Thunder’s 2-bigs and 3-guards starting lineup. Smart, Ellis, Kennard, Hachimura, and Hayes give the Lakers 5 trustworthy backups so they can play a deep and diverse 10-player rotation next year. One of the Lakers’ primary goals this offseason is to build winning depth.

The third offseason move the Lakers should make to become champions is sign unrestricted free agent Keon Ellis to a 2-year deal starting at $12M. Ellis gives the Lakers 2 elite point-of-attack defenders that they can insert

4. Draft Henri Veesaar

Henri Veesaar, Center, 22-yrs, 7' 0", 225 lbs, #26 Draft Pick 17.0/8.7/2.1/1.2/0.6 in 31.5 mpg, shooting 61%/42%/62%, 3.2 3PA pg

First round draft picks have become more valuable than ever in today’s NBA and building a championship roster is close to financially impossible to do without the controlled salaries teams receive from drafted players.

That’s why the Lakers are likely to prioritize keeping and using their #26 first round pick to select North Caroline stretch Euro center Henri Veesaar, who would become the third center in LA’s revamped center rotation. Right now, the Lakers front office favors using free agency and the draft to build championship rosters vs. trades because it’s easier for teams to grow and maintain their depth without having to match salaries via trades.

The 22-year old Veesaar could utimately be the Lakers’ center of the future. He’s a deadly 42% 3-point shooter on low volume who has soft hands and excellent footwork and an excellent shot blocker and reliable rim protector. The 22-year old Veesaar will have an excellent opportunity to break into what is going to be a 10–12 player rotation for JJ Redick next season as the Lakers adjust to the wave of NBA teams committing to twin tower bigs.

While the LA could still trade the #26 pick, several major NBA mock draft sites already have the Lakers keeping the pick and taking North Carolina Euro stretch center Henri Veesaar with the #26 pick in this year’s draft. Veesaar is rapidly rising on the mock draft sites but will hopefully still be available when the LA picks. He’s not an explosive athlete but he’s got great size, hands, footwork, instincts, smarts, and a very sweet stroke from deep.

The fourth move the Lakers should make to builda championshit team is use the #25 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to select Henri Veesaar, a 22-year old prototype modern Euro center who can space the floor and protect the rim.

5. Invest In Future

Mark Walter is committed to building the Los Angeles Lakers into an NBA juggernaut using the same blueprint he used to transform the Los Angeles Dodgers into the most dominating baseball team in modern MLB history.

At the core of Walter’s philophy about making sports franchises successful is a belief that investing in being the best is the fastest and surest way to guarantee success both financially and competitively on and off the field. And invest is what the Lakers will have to do if they want to keep up with teams like the Thunder and Spurs who have rosters with 12 or 13 quaity rotation players. While it can be done, it will be extremely expensive.

Bottom line, the Lakers will need to invest $435M and 3 first round picks to build a championship caliber roster with an elite 10-man rotation with 4 new rotation players, including 2 starters, and 6 returning rotation players. The $435M includes $220M in player salaries, which will essentially hard cap them at the $222M second apron, plus $215M in luxury taxes, which the Laker strategically treat as an investment in the franchise’s future value.

Next season’s total projection is exactly double the $217M the Lakers paid in salaries and luxury taxes this season. Like the Dodgers, the Lakers believe luxury taxes are investments in the future value of the franchise. It’s a strategy that paid off big for the Golden State Warriors, who paid over $500M in luxury taxes for the 4 seasons from 2020–21 through 2023–24. The payback will be awesome as Forbes estimates their value at $10 billion.

The Lakers have their owner, head coach, and superstar of the future and an opportunity this summer to to build a 10-man rotation that can win a championship by adding 4 high-impact 3&D players to their 6-man core.