The initial prognosis based off the moves made by the Los Angeles Lakers had most believing they were gearing themselves up for 2027 to make a big splash. That was the impression given from ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin earlier in the offseason. DeAndre Ayton's contract tells a different story.
McMenamin wrote, "L.A. exercised discipline in its negotiations to preserve cap space for 2027, when the team expects to have space to sign a max-salary free agent."
This left many Lakers fans frustrated, to say the least. However, Brian Windhorst and The Hoop Collective noted on a recent episode that may not actually be the case. The Lakers are eyeing flexibility as soon as next offseason.
"I know some people have been talking about the Lakers looking at 2027 as a big free agent year," Windhorst said. "Well, their actions are indicating that they're also eyeing 2026. ... The contracts that they have signed are protecting next year's money already."
The podcast crew pointed to the player option on Ayton's deal as a big indicator of this. They made sure to highlight that there were not a lot of guaranteed contracts on the books for the summer of 2026 beyond names like Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia.
Lakers' approach allows for cautious optimism
It should be mentioned that Lakers' second-round pick Adou Thiero, who The Hoops Collective did not mention, will also be guaranteed money on the books at that time. Albeit, his rookie contract will not account for a ton by any means.
The Los Angeles Lakers signed No. 36 pick Adou Thiero to a 3-year, $5.95 million deal, which includes two fully guaranteed years and a third-year team option, sources told @hoopshype. He averaged 15.1 points on 54.5% shooting, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals for Arkansas as a junior pic.twitter.com/hzFstLAucf
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 7, 2025
The promising takeaway from this situation would be the fact that Rob Pelinka and company are aligning the pieces in a way that should allow them the opportunity they need to completely mold the roster around Luka Doncic, when the time comes. Their reported viewpoint on LeBron James being an 'expiring contract' only adds to that belief.
The concern here would still be how that all affects the present. Those feeling like the Lakers are comfortable wasting a prime year of Doncic, and the last year(s) of James, are not being given a lot to dispprove that notion.
It would also be worth asking which players in the 2026 free agent class would appeal to the Lakers in offering up Doncic the roster needed to compete for a championship. Mikal Bridges stands out, but the other relatively big names do not offer a lot of intrigue.
The Lakers' flexibility is also bound to disappear to some capacity as well. A looming extension for Doncic and the need to pay Austin Reaves will quickly create situations that need to be worked around.
It is encouraging that Pelinka and the front office are keeping their options open. However, until they fully materialize into something tangible, the optimism in the room will remain cautious.