Lakers Bracing for Change After $45 Million News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt John | Last updated Aug 6, 2025 9:02 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers are preparing for a transition to the Luka Doncic era and away from the LeBron James era. Acquiring Doncic, a five-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA first team recipient, and an NBA finalist, at 26 years old, and extending him sets up the Lakers for years to come.

While Doncic has already shown that he's an all-time player, the Lakers will be tasked with building the best team around him. Doncic's extension will be for three years, with a player option for 2028, where he will also have the opportunity to opt out and sign a longer and richer extension.

However, building around him could require adding a replacement for LeBron James. James opted into his contract with the Lakers for the 2025-26 season without an extension, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

James potentially leaving the Lakers, whether via NBA Free Agency or retirement, would open the door for the team to refurbish the roster completely. With James potentially coming off the books, the Lakers suddenly have a ton of cap room.

ESPN shared a graphic about the Lakers' projected cap room in 2026 (h/t Oh No He Didn't), which is slated to be $45 million. That opens up many possibilities for the player(s) they could add in free agency next offseason.

Lakers got a lot of cap space for next summer pic.twitter.com/Y6rQymL5QG
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) August 6, 2025

The Lakers Could Have Several Stars to Choose From Next Summer

If James and the Lakers part ways in 2026, the Lakers would have the cap room to add an impactful player from free agency. Per Spotrac, some of the players that are or could be available in free agency are Kevin Durant (unrestricted), Zach LaVine (player option), or Trae Young (player option), among others.

They don't necessarily have to aim for the bigger stars, as some very impactful players will or could be available. That includes Isaiah Hartenstein (team option), Andrew Wiggins (player option), or Draymond Green (player option).

Los Angeles will have options, but they must keep in mind that they need to spend their money wisely. Just because they will have cap room does not mean they should spend it carelessly just because. They know this from when they signed Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng to eight-figure contracts, both of which did not turn out well for them.

There's also the possibility that this situation ends with James back in Los Angeles, as he would arguably still be the best player on the market next summer.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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