Carrying 16 standard players and three two-way talents so far, the Lakers are poised to make a decision on determining their final 15-man lineup before the next NBA season.
The Los Angeles Lakers are still far from over in making necessary moves and decisions in this year's offseason.
Jarred Vanderbilt
Position SF
Age 27
Height 203 cm
Weight 97 kg
Birth place United States of America
Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, the Lakers will also be slated to finalize their 15-man lineup and decide which one will be removed from the roster before the next 2026-27 NBA season begins.
"I mean, there's 16 players on the team. So just by virtue of that information, they aren't done," McMenamin said. "Between now and the start of the regular season, they could carry 16, they carry up to 20 through training camp, but through now, the start of the regular season, you got to get rid of a player.
"Whether that's going to be continuing to try to move someone like Jarred Vanderbilt or Dalton Knecht that they've not had success with thus far and they've quite frankly tried for a while here, or could it be someone like Jaden Hardy who was picked up in the Deandre Ayton deal that was really more about trying to get some draft assets from Washington and move off of Ayton to make room for your new centers with Kevon Looney and Walker Kessler than it was about Hardy.
"That's one thing that absolutely has to happen. So that means their work's not done."
Lakers set to decide on current 16-player lineup after offseason moves
After a flurry of moves, trades and signings so far, the Lakers currently have 16 standard players on their roster, added by the recent signing of Matisse Thybulle.
Their two-way roster slots are already complete, headlined by the trio of Chris Mañon, AK Okereke, and Arthur Kaluma.
They can still add more players heading to the training camp. But once the new NBA season is about to begin, the Lakers have to decide which will be involved in their final 15-man lineup.
LA will be compelled to either cut or trade particular players.
Jarred Vanderbilt stands as the most prominent trade candidate for the Lakers so far, as he was recently linked to the team's failed sign-and-trade efforts for Jonathan Kuminga.
Meanwhile, after making a major impression during his 2024-25 rookie season, Dalton Knecht completely fell off the cliff in the past 2025-26 campaign for LA.
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