Breaking Down Lakers Unrestricted Free Agents

The Los Angeles Lakers have a pivotal summer ahead of them. The expectation is that the Lakers will make a massive move or two to retool their roster as they look to be contenders throughout the 82-game season and beyond.

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The Lakers have a lot on their plate, but as far as the free agent cycle goes, they are pretty limited as things stand. As of mid-May, the Lakers are not projected to have cap space this summer, and that is with LeBron James returning to the roster next season. However, that could all change if James plans to retire, but the expectation is that he will play for at least one more season.

The Lakers’ best shot at upgrading the roster will likely come through trades, potentially using one of their future first-round picks—either in 2031 or 2032—as leverage. In addition, they’ll have over $70 million in expiring contracts to work with and access to either the non-taxpayer midlevel exception (projected at $14.1 million) or the taxpayer midlevel exception (estimated to begin at $5.7 million) during this offseason.

Heading into this offseason, the Lakers will have eight players on guaranteed contracts; however, they will have three players entering unrestricted free agency, including Jaxson Hayes, Markieff Morris and Alex Len.

The likelihood of the Lakers keeping all three players is much closer to unlikely than likely. Hayes was the only one who contributed to the season, and that is because the Lakers had no choice but to turn to him after trading away Anthony Davis.

Nonetheless, Hayes looked like he could play a vital role for the Lakers. However, that wavered quickly as he was a non-factor towards the end of the season, especially in the first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers will need a backup big as they search for a starting big on the trade market. If the Lakers wish to bring him back, Hayes could fall under that category.

As far as Morris and Len go, they are likely good as gone. Prior to being tagged along in the Luka Doncic trade, Morris expressed his desire to walk away from the game. He will likely take that route.

As for Len, he was viewed as a potential key piece for the Lakers at the center position after the Mark Williams deal fell through. However, he had very little to no impact on the team.

Len only played in 10 games with four starts as a Laker.

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