The Los Angeles Lakers traded up one spot to land the No. 24 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, selecting Baylor’s 6-foot-5 guard Cameron Carr.
Carr averaged 18.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, shooting 37.4% from deep, and he’s already been dubbed one of the best values from the first round.
Then in Round 2, the Lakers picked up the No. 56 pick from the Bulls, and later flipped it to Dallas for cash considerations. A smart money play for a franchise that comes into the offseason with several questions still unanswered.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin went on “NBA Today” on Thursday and gave his take on what could be next for the Lakers. He reported that, according to a source close to Luka Doncic, the Slovenian superstar left one very clear message for the front office before he left LA for the summer.
“His feedback to the Lakers front office before he went away for the summer was ‘get me an A-List center, I need that to compete.’ And Luka’s camp was also told when they were traded from Dallas to LA a year and a half ago that it’s the summer of 2026. Wait until the summer of 2026. Then we’re going to show you what we mean to you as the future of the franchise,” McMenamin said.
“There’s so much work to be done with this roster, starting with the center position,” he added. “We don’t know if Deandre Ayton is going to opt into his deal. And if does, if the feedback is, ‘Get me an A-list center’ and Ayton was already on the team last season, that means Rob Pelinka needs to find a trade partner for Ayton.”
The Lakers recently locked up Austin Reaves to a four-year, $185 million deal, the highest contract ever given out to an undrafted player. And Reaves deserved all of it. He averaged a career-high 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game last year next to Doncic. And, more importantly, Doncic wanted him back.
But apparently, that’s not all he wants.
Ayton, who signed an $8.1 million deal last year with the Lakers, has a player option for the same amount this summer. Ayton fell apart at times during the playoffs and wasn’t able to match up against OKC’s Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein, who then got outplayed by the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama in the Western Conference Finals. It’s clear that if LA wants to compete for a title, those are the guys they need to beat.
So, if Ayton opts into his player option, which feels likely, GM Rob Pelinka will need to find a willing trade partner to deal him and make way for an actual “A-list center.” Free agency opens on June 30, so the urgency is real.
McMenamin recently reported that the Lakers have already done their “due diligence” on the Pistons’ Jalen Duren and Utah’s Walker Kessler, two towering, physical big men who are efficient, can rebound on both ends, and defend the paint.
Duren would be the biggest splash. He’s coming off a career year in Detroit, where he averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and shot 65% from the field, making his first All-Star team and third-team All-NBA honors. His profile fits Doncic almost perfectly as an athletic pick-and-roll lob threat who can dominate the glass.
Duren is a restricted free agent, though, meaning whatever offer the Lakers throw his way, the Pistons could match.
Other names that have been mentioned as potential names to watch include Hartenstein, Mitchell Robinson, Robert Williams, and Daniel Gafford, Doncic’s former teammate in Dallas.