Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason in which they revamped the roster around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, they sit at 16 standard contracts on the roster heading into the start of training camp next week. That’s one over the league maximum of 15, requiring the Lakers to identify potential trade candidates.
At some point between now and the start of the regular season, the Lakers are going to need to cut the roster down to at least 15 standard contracts. During a preseason press conference on Thursday, general manager Rob Pelinka acknowledged the roster crunch, while addressing the timeline for making a potential trade.
“The spirit of competition has been great, and to some extent, going from 16 guys to 15 guys, we have until opening night for the competition to play out and see who the best 15 players are,” Pelinka told assembled media. “Behind that evaluation of who is emerging in camp, there’s also consolidation trades that can still be looked at, trading two guys out, bringing one in. So there’s a number of ways that could be addressed, and the back end point of it will be before we play the Warriors. So the next month will kind of answer those questions.”
As Pelinka said, training camp could play a role in deciding who those trade candidates are for the Lakers, but here’s a breakdown of the initial names that could find themselves in a different uniform come the start of the regular season.
1) Jaden Hardy
When the Lakers traded Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards in the offseason, they received Jaden Hardy in exchange, but the real prize for the team was the two second-round picks they acquired in the deal. Hardy has been a borderline rotation player during his career, and has been more on the out than in, in recent seasons.
He did play well for the Wizards last season in a 23-game stretch after being moved at the deadline, but overall he doesn’t fit the Lakers’ offseason goals of getting more athletic and versatile defensively as free agent signees Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle do. And while he’s only 23-years-old, he certainly isn’t as much of a development priority as Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr.
Hardy’s main attraction for potential trade partners is his expiring contract. He’s under contract for this season, and then he has a team option on his deal for 2027-28. Aside from that, perhaps another team might want to take a flyer on a relatively young guard who can provide instant offense off the bench, but not much else. In any case, he doesn’t appear to be long for LA whether it’s a trade, or declining his option at the end of the year if they can’t move him.
2) Jarred Vanderbilt
Jarred Vanderbilt’s name has come up in trade rumors over the past year, most recently during the rumored offseason talks between the Lakers and Atlanta Hawks regarding a potential sign-and-trade involving Jonathan Kuminga.
Vanderbilt still fits the Lakers’ roster in the sense that he’s among their most versatile defensive players, and he will always bring 100 percent energy, even if it does go overboard at times. But with the signings of Williams and Thybulle, that seems to squeeze him out of the bench rotation, of which he already was on the edge of last season.
One of the biggest hinderances to trading Vanderbilt is his contract. He still has this season on his deal, and then a player option for 2027-28, giving him more control over his future than whatever team he might be on. He’s still capable of helping a team, but his contract combined with his recent injury history probably causes teams to pause. Plus getting a team to agree to take him might cost the Lakers some draft capital and they probably aren’t too keen on that. Nevertheless, he is still a prime candidate to be moved eventually.
Article Continues Below3) Dalton Knecht
Dalton Knecht actually was traded at the 2024-25 deadline, to the Charlotte Hornets before the Lakers withdrew from the deal over concerns regarding Mark Williams’ health. After the rescinded trade, Knecht was never able to regain the confidence and momentum he built in the early months of his rookie season.
Ever since then, his name has seemingly come up in trade rumors, but the Lakers have not yet moved him. He had chances last season to reintegrate himself into the rotation, but was unable to seize the opportunity. He’s still on his rookie deal, and the Lakers have already picked up his option for this season, but he’s an expiring contract too in the sense that he has another team option for 2027-28.
The deadline to pick up Knecht’s option for next season is Oct. 31. If not, he will hit unrestricted free agency in the offseason. And while he was an older rookie, there is the chance that another team is still intrigued with what he showed early that season, and believes a change of scenery could unlock that again. Expect to hear his name come up as the Lakers’ deadline to trim the roster gets closer.
4) Jake LaRavia
One of the Lakers’ main offseason acquisitions last offseason, LaRavia started out his tenure in the purple and gold as a rather solid role player, before his play tailed off as the season went on, and then into the playoffs. If he can regain the form he showed early last year, he is still serviceable for this team. He’s a hard-nosed forward who can defend and shoot the 3-ball, and can act as a connector offensively.
But with the acquisition of Sandro Mamukelashvili, along with Williams and Thybulle, LaRavia also appears to potentially be squeezed out of the rotation. Depending on what happens during training camp and preseason, he could find himself on the outside looking in.
He’s an expiring contract as well. He’s in the final year of a two-year deal he signed last summer. And he still theoretically provides valuable production on the court. His name hasn’t come up as much in trade rumors as the above mentioned players, but certainly could become a prime trade candidate for the Lakers.