Getty
Jaxson Hayes #11 put his arm around Los Angeles Lakers teammate Luka Doncic #77 during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Los Angeles Lakers did great with the limited budget they had heading into this offseason.
It only cost them $19 million and a change to add 2021 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia without dipping into their already shallow draft capital.
Those moves, coupled with Luka [Doncic]‘s staggering weight loss and LeBron James playing with a chip on his shoulder after he did not get a contract extension, have made one NBA executive bullish about the Lakers’ chances next season.
Getty Luka Doncic of Slovenia dribbles the ball during the international basketball friendly match between Slovenia and Germany at Dvorana Stozice, on August 8, 2025 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
“They were the third seed last year and did that without a starting-level center,” the anonymous NBA exec told Lakers Daily. “They definitely got better by adding Ayton and Smart. I can see them making the conference finals. You can never count out LeBron. I don’t care how old he is. He’s still amazing offensively. And everyone keeps talking about how great Luka looks after his weight loss. He’s probably hungry to win it all next season.”
Lakers Crack Top Six
The Lakers have the sixth-best odds to win next season’s championship on ESPN Bet at +1600 following their solid offseason. They have the fourth-best odds among the Western Conference teams in the top six, trailing the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (+225), Denver Nuggets (+700) and the Houston Rockets (+850).
Ayton’s addition addresses the Lakers’ frontcourt woes. But they are also one injury away from reverting to the team that lost in five games in the first round.
“Nothing the Lakers do is under the radar, so this potential pitfall might seem more obvious than the other contenders’ concerns,” Dave McMenamin wrote on ESPN about the Lakers’ biggest concerns. “But until proved otherwise, L.A. is soft in the middle.”
Behind Ayton, the Lakers only have Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber.
No More Offseason Move
The Lakers are done with the offseason, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic.
“I don’t think another move is coming for the Lakers before the season starts, and really, it’s just a simple cost-benefit analysis of making one,” Woike wrote on his Aug. 13 mailbag.
The Lakers are hard-capped at first apron following the Smart signing, a move in which they needed to waive Jordan Goodwin and Shake Milton to gain access to their $5.1 million bi-annual exception. They only have $1.1 million in cap space available.
As it currently stands, the Lakers only have one first-round pick (2031 or 2032) and their 2032 second-round pick available to trade and over $100 million expiring salaries, if you include LeBron James, who opted into his $52.6 million player option.
“To create a roster spot to sign a remaining free agent, you’re spending at least one second and losing a veteran who you believe to some degree can help (or who can make as big of a difference compared to whatever player is still uncommitted here in August). As far as trades go, while talks could pick back up as training camp gets closer, I believe it’s way more likely that the Lakers would rather look at the roster that they’ve built, assess the strengths and weaknesses and try to improve during the season than use any of their limited draft arsenal to get a deal done now,” Woike wrote.
Alder Almo is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
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