After a quiet opening night of free agency, the Lakers got to work Wednesday. They agreed to a sign-and-trade for Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler and agreed to sign Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton.
In total, the Lakers shelled out more than a quarter-billion dollars. After entering free agency with the ability to create more than $50 million in salary-cap space, they now appear to be almost out of money.
There may be another shoe still to drop, though. On Friday, the Lakers traded Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two second-round picks. Flipping Ayton’s $8.1 million salary for Hardy’s $6.0 million salary gives the Lakers a bit of remaining cap space, but not enough to do anything meaingful with… yet.
As things currently stand, the Lakers would have to renounce the rights to all of their remaining free agents, including Rui Hachimura, before they can sign all three of Kessler, Grimes and Mamukelashvili. After they spend their cap space on that trio, they’d sign Sexton with the room mid-level exception and can officially sign Austin Reaves to his new four-year, $184.8 million max contract.
The Lakers have no remaining salary-cap exceptions after spending the room MLE, so they’ll only be able to offer minimum contracts from here on out. They’re also now hard-capped at the first apron after acquiring Kessler via sign-and-trade.
Here’s a look at where the Lakers stand financially in the wake of their free-agent flurry and the Ayton trade.
| Player | 2026-27 (pre-Reaves/Sexton) | 2026-27 (after Reaves/Sexton) |
|---|---|---|
| Luka Dončić | $49,488,300 | $49,488,300 |
| Austin Reaves | $20,906,361 | $41,240,250 |
| Walker Kessler | $30,232,558 | $30,232,558 |
| Quentin Grimes | $13,953,488 | $13,953,488 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt | $12,428,571 | $12,428,571 |
| Sandro Mamukelashvili | $12,093,023 | $12,093,023 |
| Collin Sexton | $9,366,000 | |
| Jaden Hardy | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 |
| Jake LaRavia | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 |
| Dalton Knecht | $4,201,080 | $4,201,080 |
| Cameron Carr | $3,316,200 | $3,316,200 |
| Bronny James | $2,296,271 | $2,296,271 |
| Adou Thiero | $2,150,917 | $2,150,917 |
| TOTAL | $163,066,769 | $192,766,658 |
| SALARY CAP | $164,961,000 | $164,961,000 |
| CAP ROOM | $1,894,231 | -$27,805,658 |
| LUXURY TAX | $200,428,000 | $200,428,000 |
| TAX ROOM | $37,361,231 | $7,661,342 |
| 1ST APRON | $209,015,000 | $209,015,000 |
| 1ST APRON ROOM | $45,948,231 | $16,248,342 |
| 2ND APRON | $221,686,000 | $221,686,000 |
| 2ND APRON ROOM | $58,619,231 | $28,919,342 |
Keep in mind that these are rough estimates for Kessler, Grimes and Mamukelashvili based on the terms reported for their respective contracts, although agent inflation is common at this time of year. There’s a chance that any of those deals could come in slightly lower than reported.
Once the Lakers sign Reaves and Sexton to their new deals, they’re projected to be less than $8 million below the $200.4 million luxury-tax line and roughly $16 million below their first-apron hard cap.
Since the Lakers can’t cross the first apron this season, they will have considerable in-season trade flexibility. Teams above the first apron can’t take back more salary than they send out in trades, but teams below it can take back significantly more.
Kessler, Grimes, Mamukelashvili and Sexton won’t be trade-eligible until Dec. 15 at the earliest, but that’s something to file away for ahead of the trade deadline.
Can the Lakers create more cap space?
Between Reaves, Sexton, Grimes, Luka Dončić and rookie Cameron Carr, the Lakers now appear to be set in the backcourt. Their frontcourt is also in fairly good shape between Kessler, Mamukelashvili, Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt, although they’re now on the hunt for a backup big man after trading Ayton.
However, their situation at the three leaves much to be desired, barring a massive leap from either Adou Thiero or an immediate impact from Carr.
Even if Reaves, Dončić and Grimes all start together in a three-guard lineup, the Lakers could use some additional wing help. They have a few pathways to continue adding to their roster this offseason despite being capped out.
The Lakers could always look to salary-dump Vanderbilt ($12.4 million), but they don’t have much left to sweeten any trade offers. They now have zero tradable first-round picks, only one remaining first-round swap (2032), but do have three second round picks now after the Ayton trade.
They could also pull a 2025 Milwaukee Bucks and waive-and-stretch Vanderbilt. Doing so would leave them with a $5.1 million dead cap hit in each of the next five seasons, but that would equip them with an additional $7.3 million of spending power this summer. They’d have to spend that newfound cap space before they officially signed Sexton or Reaves to their new contracts.
Once the game of free-agency musical chairs runs out, the Lakers might be able to snag a wing for cheap — perhaps even on a minimum contract — since they can offer a legitimate role. Playing alongside an elite playmaker like Dončić could help players improve their market value moving forward, too. But if the Lakers hang on to Vanderbilt, they’re likely done with their big moves in free agency.
Do the additions of Kessler, Mamukelashvili, Grimes and Sexton outweigh the departures of LeBron James, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Ayton and perhaps Hachimura? Do the Lakers have something else up their sleeves? We’ll find out soon enough.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.
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