LeBron James has officially informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he will play elsewhere next season. It still feels slightly unreal. The idea of LeBron actually packing his bags and playing for another team, at this stage of his career, has felt like a pipe dream for so long.
Realistic landing spots include reunions in Cleveland or Miami, or a potential team-up with former rival Stephen Curry in Golden State. For the Lakers, it’s full steam ahead with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves as their franchise pillars. LeBron’s departure will read as a betrayal to many, but the Lakers didn’t exactly do right by him these past few years. Now that the slate in clean — and L.A. has $52 million in cap space — here are a few moves GM Rob Pelinka should prioritize.
Reunite Luka Doncic with Daniel Gafford
While a Jalen Duren sign-and-trade sounds appealing on the surface, paying $40 million-plus annually on a non-shooting, non-playmaking center who just flamed out spectacularly in the playoffs probably is not an ideal use of cap space. Duren can amplify Dončić and Reaves (and vice versa), but given the increasing evidence to support not overpaying tertiary stars, L.A. should look for more budget-friendly options.
How about Luka’s former Dallas teammate, Daniel Gafford? Gafford is at the beginning of an affordable three-year, $54 million contract. There’s a reason the Mavs went out and got him to begin with: He’s a strong stylistic complement to Dončić as a high-flying lob threat. Gafford will set screens and roll with a purpose. He’s also a monster shot-blocker who can elevate the Lakers’ defense in ways Deandre Ayton never will.
He’s not without his limitations, but Gafford’s contract is excellent value for 25-30 minutes of impactful rim protection, a strong presence on the glass and efficient play-finishing on offense.
Add the defensive versatility Dean Wade provides
Dean Wade is probably looking for a contract somewhere at or below the mid-level exception, which is $15 million annually. The surface-level stats don’t pop — he averaged 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 22.3 minutes for Cleveland last season — but he’s an excellent dirty-work role player who can fill important gaps for L.A.
Wade is a highly active and versatile defender at 6-foot-9 and 228 pounds. He gets his hands into passing lanes, makes timely rotations to impact shots at the rim, and he can slide his feet on the perimeter, with the strength to hold the line against more physical slashers.
He rebounds. He’s an efficient spot-up shooter, especially from the corner. He’s not going to light up the scoreboard, but L.A. gets no shortage of generative thrust from Dončić and Reaves. They need size and defense on the wing, ideally in the form of a dependable floor spacer. The Lu Dort buzz tracks, but Wade is probably slightly cheaper and an even better fit.
Bet on Peyton Watson’s breakout
Peyton Watson is rumored to want around $30 million annually, and it’s unclear if the Nuggets are willing or able to pay him. The 23-year-old forward was one of last season’s best stories, stepping up to the plate when Denver was in dire straits injury-wise. He averaged 14.6 points and 4.6 rebounds on .491/.411/.730 splits.
Watson is an extremely rangy defender with a lot of shot-blocking equity. The combined coverage and versatility of Watson, Wade and Gafford would dramatically improve a Lakers defense that was nowhere near good enough to realistically compete for a championship last season.
He’s also a proficient spot-up shooter, hitting 52 percent of his corner 3s a year ago. Dončić and Reaves will find him in his spots. Watson can explode past closeouts to attack the rim. He flashed real juice as a mid-range scorer this past season as Denver expanded his freedom on the court. Though not the most advanced passer, the Lakers can ask Watson to play to his strengths as a finisher and defender. He needn’t overextend himself next to Dončić, one of the league’s few sustainably heliocentric stars.
There is some risk in paying top dollar for Watson with such an incomplete résumé; he only played 54 games (and started 40) in his breakout campaign due to injury. But he’s a strong complement to Dončić on paper and it’s a chance to weaken a conference rival, assuming L.A. can outbid the Nuggets, who hold restricted free agency rights.
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