The Los Angeles Lakers enter the offseason with plenty of players from the 2025-26 having their futures up in the air. Rival teams have undoubtedly done their homework and are circling like sharks for who they believe fits their roster. Take the Portland Trail Blazers as an example.
Reese Kunz of Rip City Project identified three names from the Lakers' list of pending free agents who should all be desirable for the Blazers. Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, and Luke Kennard were all pinpointed as perfect free agency targets for Portland.
To varying degrees among each of them, those are names the Lakers should have interest in keeping. Even so, all of those players are set to become unrestricted free agents, meaning the highest bidder is likely to claim them. That sounds like where the Blazers hope to be for one of them.
For the Lakers, this calls for a careful evaluation of who fits the short-term and long-term goals of the franchise best. If Los Angeles is going see one of these players depart to Portland, or otherwise, they better be willing to eat that loss.
Lakers must quickly get the priorities straight among their free agents
There is reason to look at each of Hachimura, Smart, and Kennard whilst believing the Lakers could benefit from a return.
Hachimura's postseason shooting was historic. His ability to knock down triples at the four lends itself well to playing off Luka Doncic for the foreseeable future. His inconsistent defense is what raises the most question marks around his long-term upside.
Speaking of that end of the court, Smart will not be a player whose ability to guard his matchup will be questioned anytime soon. Inverse of Hachimura, his uneven offense is where the concern lies with the veteran guard.
Much like the previous two names, Kennard is also a player whose value is largely tilted to one end of the court. Spacing the floor is as easy as waking up in the morning for the Lakers sharpshooter. Holding his own on defense is not.
Therein lies the main problem for Los Angeles: each of these players pose notable flaws in having their value primarily stick out on one end or the other. The Lakers need players who can do both.
That does not mean the door should be completely shut on any of them, giftwrapping guys to teams like the Blazers. However, the Lakers will need to know whose strengths outweigh their flaws best in a Doncic-led future in Los Angeles, inviting a potential return in the process.
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