Lakers Massive Summer Makeover! Giannis Or Kessler, Watson, Eason?

Now that the trade deadline has passed, the Lakers have shifted their massive roster makeover to next summer when they’ll have 3 first round picks to trade and $60 million in cap space for other teams’ free agents.

Mark Walter plans to completely overhaul the Lakers front office this summer, expanding a front office and scouting department that had just a handful of people to a fully grown organization with a staff of over 100. The goal is to build a world class front office and championship scouting department for the Los Angeles Lakers that’s modeled after what Mark Walter’s crew built after buying the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2012.

While Rob Pelinka claims Jeanie Buss and he will be running the Lakers going forward with support from Mark Walter, the more realistic view is the team’s days of being run like a family business are already long gone.
By summer, Buss and Pelinka will be quickly be assimilated into a new expanded Lakers’ executive team along with the brightest and best front office, data analytics, and team building minds Mark Walter’s could buy.

While Walter will give Pelinka and Redick a chance to show they deserve to keep their jobs, their future is understandably tied to this roster and how well this team finishes the season and how deep they go into the playoffs.
Frankly, the Lakers may need to make the conference finals to save Rob’s and JJ’s jobs and earn them a shot to pull off the massive summer rebuild. LA needs their GM and coach of the future calling next summer’s shots.

Armed with 3 first round picks and $60 million cap space, the Lakers have two potential directions next summer: trade for Antetokounmpo or try to steal restricted free agents Walker Kessler, Peyton Watson, and Tari Eason.

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TRADING FOR ANTETOKOUNMPO

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF, 31, 6′ 11″, 7′ 3″, 243 lbs, 3-yrs $175.4M
28.0/10.0/5.6/0.7/0.9 in 29.2 mpg. 3P->0.5/1.3/39.5%

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One thing that won’t change with Mark Walter as owner of the Lakers is their legendary obsession with chasing superstars. The Lakers’ #1 priority this summer is to make a blockbuster trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Like Jerry Buss, Mark Walter firmly believes superstars are key to financial success in professional sports and transformed the Dodgers into an MLB juggernaut by relentlessly upgrading every position with superstar players.
The Lakers will not be able to replicate the Dodgers’ strategy because NBA salary cap rules make it almost impossible for teams to afford to build deep championship rosters while having to pay for more than two max salaries.

Franky, trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo should not be the Lakers’ top priority this summer because the odds of it happening are miniscule. LA is a long way from Greece and Giannis still wants to be his team’s alpha dog.
The only way the Lakers could win a Giannis trade this summer would be if he demanded to traded to them, they included Austin Reaves, and they were able to transform their 3 unprotected picks into 9 protected picks.

The Lakers will probably make a concerted effort this summer to expand their draft capital by swapping unprotected first round picks for multiple protected picks. Expect other teams to follow a similar strategy with picks.
The recent tactics by teams like the Thunder, Spurs, and Nets of building massive stockpiles of future first round and second round picks have reduced the number but increased the value of the picks other teams have.

As fascinating as it would be to see Luka Doncic paired up with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Lakers would be smarter to pursue three elite elite younger players like Walker Kessler, Peyton Watson, and Tari Eason.

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STEALING KESSLER, WATSON, & EASON

Walker Kessler, CE, 24, 7′ 0″, 7′ 6″, 245 lbs, 1-yr $4.9M
14.4/10.8/3.0/1.8/1.4 in 30.8 mpg. 3P->1.2/1.6/75.0%

Peyton Watson, SF, 23, 6′ 8″, 7′ 1″, 200 lbs, 1-yr $4.4M
14.9/4.9/2.0/1.2/1.9 in 30.7 mpg. 3P->1.5/3.7/41.7%

Tari Eason, PF, 23, 6′ 8″, 7′ 2″, 215 lbs, 1-yr $5.47M
12.4/6.3/1.4/0.6/1.3 in 25.0 mpg. 3P->2.2/4.7/47.8%

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With 3 first-round picks and $60 million cap space, the Lakers are planning a massive summer free agency makeover by stealing 3 young non-extended restricted free agents in Walker Kessler, Peyton Watson, and Tari Eason.

Kessler, Watson, and Eason will all be restricted free agents next summer because the Jazz, Nuggets, and Rockets didn’t extend their rookie contracts for various reasons, including luxury tax and first and second apron issues.
Targeting restricted free agents is normally considered to be a risky gamble because the player’s prior team always has a 48 hour right of first refusal to match the offer and retain the player, which ties up the offered cap space.

Teams trying to steal other team’s free agents strategically make offers that the player’s original team can’t or won’t match because of the cost, poison pill, increased luxury taxes, exceeding an apron, or other financial needs.
Trying to steal 1 restricted free agent is a tricky challenge that ties up the offered cap space for 48 hours. There has never been an NBA team that tried to simultaneously steal 3 restricted free agents in a single summer.

That’s where the unlimited resources Mark Walter can bring to the Lakers comes in play. By summer, it won’t Rob Pelinka but a fully integrated front office team of advanced, experienced salary cap experts seeking solutions.
Figuring out how to simultaneously steal 3 restricted free agents from 3 NBA teams is exactly the type of innovative out-of-the-box solution Mark Walter’s Dodgers successfully parlayed into 3 World Series triumphs.

The Lakers must have something special planned for this summer to allow almost $100 million in expiring contracts walk away with nothing in return and then gamble it all on stealing 3 restricted free agents from other teams.

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CREATING STARTING LINEUP OF FUTURE

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Completing an extreme roster makeover by signing multiple restricted free agents has never been done in NBA history. However, the current timing and situation could not be more perfect for the Lakers to pull this off.

What the Lakers desperately need from next summer’s massive roster makeover is their starting 3&D small forward and starting modern center of the future to go with their Doncic and Reaves backcourt of the future.
The Lakers would love to add their power forward of the future but like Meat Loaf sang, ‘Two out of three ain’t bad’ and stealing Peyton Watson from the Nuggets and Walker Kessler from the Jazz would be grand theft.

Right now, it appears as if the Lakers could easily put together a $30 to $35 million per year offer for Peyton Watson the Nuggets would decline to match. The Nuggets would prefer losing Watson than paying luxury taxes.
Other factors include that Peyton is an LA and UCLA kid who grew up as a Lakers fan and is represented by Clutch Sports. The Lakers are also the only team projected to have cap space to sign a players to a max contract.

Walker Kessler is more challenging because Danny Ainge has said they want to keep him long-term. The Lakers would probably have to offer Kessler a $41 million max offer to get the Jazz to decline to match them.
That means the only realistic way the Lakers could get Walker Kessler is via a sign-and-trade on draft day next summer, when the Lakers could offer their 2026, 2027 (1–4), 2031, and 2033 first round picks to trade to the Jazz.

Finally, the Lakers could choose to be hardcapped by the second rather than the first apron to get another $11 million in cap space to make an offer to also add Tari Eason that the Rockets might not be willing to match.