The Los Angeles Lakers did not ease into free agency. They attacked it.
The Lakers reportedly traded for Walker Kessler, and signed Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Quentin Grimes in a flurry of moves early in free agency, according to ESPN.
After a flurry of moves headlined by a reported sign-and-trade for Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, the Lakers’ roster looks dramatically different around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The reaction around the NBA was just as dramatic: some observers praised Los Angeles for finally landing a real long-term center, while others questioned whether the Lakers spent too much of their future for a roster that still has obvious wing and defensive questions.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Lakers agreed to acquire Kessler from the Jazz for unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, plus first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030. Kessler is expected to sign a four-year, $130 million deal with Los Angeles.
The reactions flew in.
NBA World Reacts to Lakers’ Busy Free Agency
The reaction to the Lakers’ offseason push quickly split into two camps.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN framed the Kessler move from Utah’s side, writing on X that the Jazz believed they had made a fair five-year, $140 million offer before Kessler’s representatives pushed back. MacMahon added that Utah then “pounced” on the chance to collect a haul of first-round picks.
NBA Central, citing Brett Siegel, noted the scale of the Lakers’ commitment, posting that Los Angeles now had no tradeable first-round picks over the next seven years and had committed $475 million to Dončić, Reaves and Kessler.
Marc Stein offered the most optimistic read among the reactions, writing that the draft capital price was “STEEP,” but that the Lakers had “swiftly achieved their top offseason objective” by landing Kessler and pairing him with Dončić and Reaves.
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports wrote “the Lakers went all in on a roster that’s destined to lose…” explaining the nature of the Western Conference and the bigger fish still in the pond.
That tension is the whole story. The Lakers got younger, bigger and more coherent around Doncic. They also made a bet that this core is good enough to justify pushing nearly all of their movable draft equity into the middle of the table.
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup
Based on the reported moves and the early reaction, the Lakers’ projected starting lineup could look something like this:
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Quentin Grimes
PF: Sandro Mamukelashvili or another forward addition
C: Walker Kessler
That alignment would give Los Angeles a very different identity. Dončić remains the engine. Reaves gives the Lakers a second creator and late-clock scorer. Grimes would make sense as a floor-spacing guard/wing who can take tougher perimeter defensive assignments than most of the Lakers’ ball-handlers.
Kessler is the major structural change. ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently listed the Lakers’ offseason needs as a “two-way starting center, wing, shooting and bench depth.” Kessler directly addresses the center part of that list, while Grimes and Mamukelashvili would help with shooting and depth.
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