The start of the 2026 NBA offseason is rapidly approaching. The first round of the draft will unfold on June 23, and free-agent negotiations can officially begin on July 30.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, the coming weeks will be about reloading for the 2026-27 season and building around new franchise centerpiece Luka Dončić long-term. The challenge will involve several moving pieces, but L.A. faces two big decisions with impending free agents Austin Reaves and LeBron James.
Reaves, who only turned 28 in May, is the sort of long-term second option the Lakers want to keep alongside Dončić—and that is, reportedly, their plan. According to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, re-signing Reaves “is at the top of the Lakers’ offseason to-do list.”
James, on the other hand, is still a great player but will turn 42 in December. He can help the Lakers win next season, but there’s a very real chance that it’ll be during his final NBA run. Signing him shouldn’t be L.A.’s top priority, but it should be the first one the franchise addresses.
As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted during a recent appearance with ESPN Cleveland, James can negotiate with the Lakers ahead of free agency. Windhorst believes that’s part of L.A.’s focus and that talks are already underway.
The Lakers should look to have a contract agreement in place with James well ahead of free agency, for a few reasons. The biggest is the franchise’s desire to retain Reaves.
Reaves has made it pretty clear that he’d prefer to return to L.A., but he’ll certainly have other offers after declining his player option and entering free agency.
According to of The Athletic, the Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, and Atlanta Hawks are among the teams already interested in Reaves. L.A. will have to make Reaves a fair market-level offer to retain him.
“There’s a strong belief within league circles that if the Lakers offer Reaves close to or the full max, he’ll stay in Los Angeles,” Michael Scotto of HoopsHype wrote. “However, if the Lakers submit a low-ball offer,Reaves will consider other offers, and the possibility of a sign-and-trade could also emerge.”
Getting a deal done with James now would allow Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office to fully focus on the negotiations with Reaves later this month. It would also give Los Angeles an accurate idea of what it can afford to offer Reaves and what sort of cap space it can carry into free agency.
The Lakers could have around $50 million available before negotiating with Reaves, but that’s without factoring in James and fellow free agent Rui Hachimura.
“This is why rival teams look at the Lakers as having ‘phantom’ cap space,” Windhorst recently explained.
Presumably, the Lakers will angle for a team-friendly contract with James, something he hasn’t agreed to in the past but may at age 41 and with the Lakers close to fleshing out a strong roster. If L.A. can lay out an attractive plan for how they can use the cap savings from a budget James contract, it just might be able to get one.
Getting that out of the way now would allow the Lakers to know just how much of that $50 million figure is “phantom.”
This, in turn, could help with the re-signing of Reaves and with the planning stage of free agency.
Lastly, getting a contract done with James would eliminate the possibility of him leaving in free agency. That might not be a massive problem long-term, but if James is willing to sign a cap-friendly deal to stay, the Lakers aren’t going to find a bigger bargain for a 2026-27 run.
And James, reportedly, will have his options if he hits the market. His agent, Rich Paul, recently told The Pat McAfee Show that “10-12 teams” are already expressing interest.
If the Lakers want to make one more run with James and see him (most likely) retire in L.A., it would be unwise to let him even consider the open market.
