Only Three Lakers Are Safe Heading Into the 2026 NBA Offseason

The Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of a second-round exit, down 0-3 to the Oklahoma City Thunder with Luka Doncic yet to play a single minute of the series. The offseason is basically already here, and the roster questions are just as daunting as the scoreboard.

This was always going to be a massive summer for Los Angeles. Building a real contender around Doncic means hard decisions on nearly every player currently on the roster, and the playoffs have only made those decisions more urgent.

Doncic himself, locked into a three-year, $165 million extension, is untouchable. But outside of him, only three players can genuinely feel safe heading into what could be the most important offseason the Lakers have had in years.

Austin Reaves

Austin Reaves is the first name on that list, and it is not close. The Lakers are expected to offer him a five-year, $241 million max contract this offseason, with Reaves viewed as the long-term co-star alongside Doncic, the player this team is built around.

He averaged 23.3 points and 5.5 assists during the regular season, establishing himself as one of the better offensive guards in the league. He missed time with an oblique strain but returned in the first round against the Houston Rockets, posting 22 points and six assists in Game 5. The Lakers are not expected to walk away from him.

Marcus Smart

If Reaves is the obvious one, Marcus Smart is the smartest decision the Lakers can make this offseason. He signed a one-year deal last summer with a $5.4 million player option for 2026-27, and at that price, he is widely expected to pick up.

He averaged 9.3 points and 3.0 assists during the regular season, then elevated when it mattered with 14.3 points, 5.7 assists, and 2.9 steals across nine playoff games, leading all players in steals this postseason. Smart runs the offense when Doncic and Reaves sit, defends multiple positions, and never disappears in big moments. At $5.4 million, that production is hard to find anywhere else.

Rui Hachimura

Rui Hachimura rounds out the three, though his situation is the most complicated. He will be an unrestricted free agent, and his playoff run has been so good that other teams will come calling with serious money this summer.

Through nine games, he is averaging 16.7 points while shooting 54.2 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three. His career playoff three-point percentage of 51.68 percent is the best in NBA history. The Lakers hold his Bird rights and can go over the cap to keep him. He does not need the ball, spaces the floor better than almost anyone on the roster, and has shown up every single time the stakes were highest. That combination is hard to walk away from.

Those are the three players Los Angeles can feel good about. The rest of the picture is far less settled.

Who Is Not Certain/Safe This Offseason

LeBron James will be an unrestricted free agent at 41, and the uncertainty around him is genuine. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are both real options if he decides to leave. He has said multiple times this season that he is unsure whether he wants a 24th year, and until that decision is made, the Lakers cannot fully map out what this roster looks like.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James — LeBron James | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Deandre Ayton is a different kind of problem. He holds an $8.1 million player option, but his playoff performance has been hard to watch. He shot just 39.3 percent in the series after a 60.4 percent regular season, and the same center problem has now shown up in back-to-back postseasons. The Lakers signed him specifically to fix this. He has not fixed it.

Then there is Luke Kennard, who is a free agent coming off an $11 million deal. He had a brilliant first round against Houston, but the Thunder adjusted quickly, and his numbers fell off.

The bigger issue is what that $11 million means in the context of this offseason. The Lakers already have Smart doing more on both ends for less than half the price, and that cap space could go toward a center who can actually hold up in playoff basketball. Keeping Kennard at that number makes that move harder to pull off.

Los Angeles Lakers Jaxson Hayes — Apr 29, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) defends the basket against Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) during the first half in game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Jaxson Hayes averaged just 4.6 points in 16 minutes per game in the playoffs and is a free agent with no guarantee of return. His future as a Laker depends entirely on what happens at the center position this summer.

The Lakers are projected to have over $50 million in cap space if LeBron walks. Reaves, Smart, and Hachimura are the core worth protecting. The rest of the money needs to go toward fixing what these playoffs exposed all over again.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on YouTube, Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google