Six Lakers — Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes — could leave LA as free agents this summer or win new contracts with strong post-season play in a deep playoff run.
Four weeks ago, the Lakers were desperately hanging onto the #6 seed with hopes of avoiding the play-in. While Reaves was in for a big payday, James, Smart, Kennard, Hachimura, and Hayes were all facing uncertain futures. Today, the Lakers have won 14 of last 16 including 5 wins over top-10 teams and a strong lead to lock up the #3 seed in the West. In that 16-game run, all six of the above Lakers have had strong offensive and defensive games.
The Lakers’ six-pack of veteran players who could end up leaving via free agency or winning new contracts with outstanding playoff performances includes three starters in Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Marcus Smart.
Assuming they have a deep playoff run, the Lakers are expected to re-sign Reaves to a new contract and have interest in bringing back Smart, James, Kennard, Hachimura, Hayes but not Ayton, whom they plan to upgrade.
With a $165M salary cap less $75M in contracts, and $15M in roster holds, the Lakers could have as much as $75M in open cap space plus three first round picks to sign or S&T for other teams’ free agents next summer.
If ownership will pay the taxes, the Lakers could hard cap themselves at the $220M second apron. After $75M in contracts and $75M for other team’s free agents, the Lakers would still have $70M for their own free agents.
Let’s take a look at what each of these six Lakers’ players have done during the last four weeks to justify winning new contracts, how much they would cost to re-sign, and what they would bring to the team going forward.
1. AUSTIN REAVES
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Austin Reaves will be eligible this summer to receive up to 5-years and $241M from the Lakers or 4-years and $180M from other teams. The Lakers certainly want to re-sign Reaves. The only question is for how much.
While Austin Reaves has been sensational, he still needs to prove he can do in the playoffs what he can do in the regular season. Even if he can do that, the Lakers could still decide they cannot afford to pay him a max salary.
Assuming Reaves and the team have an elite playoffs, the Lakers will likely ask Reaves to do the same as they’ll ask James to do, which is to agree to a team friendly deal so they can build a deep talented championship roster.
The Lakers have the leverage over Reaves as none of the teams with the cap space to sign Austin to a max deal next summer are legitimate contenders. Reaves has a situation with the Lakers that makes the money secondary.
The Lakers will need everybody to sacrifice to bring back Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura, and Jaxson Hayes and sign Peyton Watson and sign-and-trade for Walker Kessler.
For Austin Reaves, the sacrifice could mean accepting a 4-year $150M deal that starts at $35M per year with a player option for the 4th year. That would give Reaves a realistic shot at a legitimate max deal in 3 years.
James and Reaves willingly making sacrifices could give the team the financial resources needed to keep the current core together and add the elite starting 3&D wing and rim protecting defensive center they need.
Austin Reaves will need to be one of the driving forces behind a successful and deep playoff run by the Lakers to at least the conference finals. As a team leader, he will also need to accept a team friendly $35M contract.
2. LEBRON JAMES
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Four weeks ago, the Lakers had little interest in LeBron James returning next season, preferring to have his $52M in cap space off the books so they could pursue coveted free agents Peyton Watson and Walker Kessler.
But then JJ Redick convinced LeBron James to agree to become the Lakers’ third option to make their Big Three work and allow developing superstar Austin Reaves to be the team’s second lead ball handler and playmaker.
LeBron playing off the ball and taking fewer but more efficient shots has been one of the major factors why the Lakers went 13–2 over last 15 games. That move has now put everybody on the Lakers team on the same page.
The Lakers have undergone a massive transformation the last 4 weeks. Luka has been playing like an MVP, Austin like an All-Star, and LeBron like the GOAT with top tier lock-down defense and high percentage offense.
The result is the Big Three everybody first envisioned but with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves unleashed to run the offense and LeBron James filling in with whatever skills and basketball tools the Lakers need to win each game.
While the Lakers cannot realistically give LeBron a max contract at 41, they could still sign him to a 1 or 2-year long contract for $15M to $20M per year to become their perfect “Jack-of-all-Trades’ and ‘Superstar Role Player.’
With James and Reaves taking the lead and taking less, the Lakers could conceivably have enough cap space to bring back all six of their free agents as well as adding two new high powered starters in Watson and Kessler.
LeBron James will need to continue to be the Lakers ‘Superstar Role Player’ helping to lead the Lakers to a deep run in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. He will also need to sacrifice by only taking $15M to $20M per year salary.
3. MARCUS SMART
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One of the major keys to the Lakers success this season was Rob Pelinka’s gamble to sign point guard and former DPOY Marcus Smart and JJ Redick’s move to start him in a 3-guard lineup with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
After a couple of seasons on non-contending teams after being traded by Boston, Marcus Smart is finally healthy and playing at the same level that won him the 2022 DPOY. Smart’s the Lakers’ defensive leader and voice.
Marcus Smart’s elite point-of-attach defense and fearless clutch 3-point shooting have had a team-best impact on both the Lakers’ defense and offense. For the season, Marcus Smart has a team-best plus/minus of +238.
Defensively, Smart’s 110.9 defensive rating is team-best for the season. He is also 1st on the team and 2nd in the NBA in charges drawn, 3rd on the team with 1.4 steals per game, and 6th on team with 0.4 blocks per game.
Offensively, Marcus Smart’s 7.4 offensive rating is 6th best on team, his 9.5 points per game 6th best, his 2.8 assists per game 4th best, his 4.8 3-point attempts per game 3rd best, and his 1.5 3-point makes per game 4th best.
Moving forward, the Lakers will likely look to replace Smart in the starting lineup with a younger, bigger elite 3&D small forward like Peyton Watson, moving Marcus to backup point guard, which should be his ideal position.
While Smart will have suiters in free agency, he has no desire to chase a bigger salary vs. being on a championship caliber team. He will re-sign with Lakers for 3-years starting at $15M with 3rd year player option.
Marcus Smart will need to continue to stay healthy and show he can still play elite point-of-attack defense and hit his shots. Smart is the Lakers’ top priority free agent after Reaves and James. Smart wants to be a Laker.
4. LUKE KENNARD
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While trading for Luke Kennard was the only move the Lakers made at the trade deadline, the trade triggered a transformation of the Lakers 3-point takes and makes in less than four weeks from a bottom-10 to top-5 team.
What Luke Kennard gave the Lakers was a 2nd dangerous high percentage, low volume 3-point shooter like Rui Hachimura for elite playmakers Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James to find for wide open threes.
While the Lakers efforts to turn Luke and Rui into volume 3-point shooters has not yet worked, the addition of Kennard and increase in 3-point takes and makes by Doncic have revolutionized LA’s 3-point shooting prowess.
Right now, Luke Kennard at 47.4% is the Lakers’ most accurate 3-point shooter and part of a six-pack of 3-ball shooters headed by Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, and LeBron James.
Over the Lakers last 16 games, those six players combined have been averaging 13.2 3-point makes on 33.6 3-point takes per game for 39.3%. As a team for that period, LA was #22 in 3PA, #16 in 3PM, and #7 in 3P%.
Luke Kennard will need to continue to shoot close to 50% from deep but also needs to raise his 3-point attempts from the current 3 per game to closer to 6 per game, which he’s done 3 times in his 9 years in the NBA.
Kennard’s value to the Lakers depends on whether he can become a volume 3-point shooter with Doncic, Reaves, and James feeding him. The Lakers prefer Luke shoot 6 threes per game @ 40% over 3 per game @ 50%.
While Luke doesn’t have a quick release and only pulls the trigger when he’s wide open, he will never be the high volume 3-point weapon that Luka is but he’s also not just a 3-point shooter but also a smart basketball player.
It’s not a coincidence that we’re seeing Kennard on the floor with the Lakers’ Big Three to close out games. Luke would likely have to trade years for money. Lakers would likely re-sign him for 3 years starting at $10M.
Luke Kennard will need to continue to shoot lights out from deep but with higher volume and be a positive factor to the team’s offense and defense. Luke’s a perfect fit for LA’s need for a high percentage 3-point shooter.
5. RUI HACHIMURA
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Rui Hachimura probably faces the toughest challenge of the six veteran Lakers on or likely to be on expiring contracts to win a new contract due to his current $18M salary and his recent move from starter to the bench.
Rui has continued to be an elite high percentage 3-point shooter and has accepted the move to the bench well. While the Lakers wish Hachimura were more aggressive and better defensively, he’s been a valuable player.
Like Smart, coming off the bench will impact what the Lakers can pay Hachimura. Like Marcus, Rui will have to accept a new deal that reflects he’s no longer a starter but is also now on a potential championship team.
Despite how much Rui loves playing for the Lakers and being in LA, there’s a good possibility he’ll get an offer the Lakers cannot afford to beat. In the end, Rui needs the Lakers’ other potential returnees to all take a little less.
The other wild card when it comes to Hachimura is Mark Walter’s desire to make the Lakers and Dodgers global brands. Like with Ohtani, Hachimura being Japanese could be a factor when it comes down to a new contract.
The Lakers’ plan to steal Peyton Watson from the Nuggets doesn’t help Rui’s case for a new contract but a S&T of Vanderbilt, LaRavia, Knecht, Thiero ($25M), and three picks to the Jazz for center Walker Kessler $30M does.
The only problem with the Lakers’ signing-and-trading for Kessler is it hard caps them at the $209M first apron rather than the $222 second apron, which costs $13M in cap space, $5M of which we recover via the S&T.
Rui must continue to shine as a 3-point shooter coming off the bench and have a series of other dominoes fall his way to get a new contract. If the Lakers can pull off the Kessler sign-and-trade, Rui will remain a Laker
6. JAXSON HAYES
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Jaxson Hayes’ dramatic recent improvement blocking shots and protecting the rim on defense to with his lethal vertical lob threat for Luka Doncic on offense guarantees the Lakers will award him a new long-term contract.
One of the big reasons the Lakers have totally turned their season around the last four weeks has been the play of their centers. Both Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes have elevated their games to an entirely new level.
Ayton has surprised everybody by suddenly buying in to just doing what the Lakers want: protect the rim, control the boards, and attack on offense. The only problem is he’s not the rim protector or floor stretcher LA wants.
Jaxson Hayes, on the other hand, is suddenly surprising everybody by blocking everything around the rim. During the first 58 games of the year, Jaxson averaged 0.4 steals and 0.6 blocks in 17.4 minutes per game.
During the 16 games since then, Hayes has averaged 0.6 steals and 1.4 blocks in 20.5 mpg. In the last 10 and 5 games, those numbers were 0.8 steals and 2.1 blocks in 20.8 mpg and 0.8 steals and 3.2 blocks in 24.1 mpg.
The difference has been amazing as Jackson appears to have finally figured out where to be when players drive to the hoop to that he can use his great leaping ability to block the shot. It’s been incredible to watch happen.
This is the kind of transformation you don’t even see during a player’s offseason when they have time to work on specific talents and skills. If Jax can continues protecting the rim like this, he’ll get $8M to $10M per year.
While the sample size is small, the improvement made by Jaxson Hayes as a shot blocker and rim protector is career changing. Jax will have to show he can it in the playoffs but if he does, he could be a Lakers game changer.
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