The 2026 Conference Finals have been set and the Los Angeles Lakers should be as eager to watch the upcoming games as any team in the NBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers will face the New York Knicks in the East, while the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the San Antonio Spurs in the West.
In both series, a surprisingly long list of pending free agents will appear under the spotlight—and the Lakers could thus receive confirmation of whether or not they should pursue said players this summer.
Los Angeles has three needs that 2026 free agents who are due to play in the Conference Finals could potentially help address. That includes the absence of an ideal starting center, the glaring need for 3-and-D wings, and a general lack of guard depth beyond Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
That makes the Conference Finals not just must-see basketball for any fan of the sport, but a golden opportunity to get what may be one final round of scouting in for several top potential targets.
Several pending free agents could take center stage in Conference Finals
The two biggest names Los Angeles will likely be keeping an eye on are centers Isaiah Hartenstein of the Thunder and Mitchell Robinson of the Knicks. Hartenstein has a $28.5 million club option, but many have hypothesized that Oklahoma City could cut ties given its risk of going into the second apron.
Robinson, meanwhile, will enter unrestricted free agency in 2026 and may ultimately look for new options due to New York's own financial limitations.
Along the perimeter, Thunder wing Luguentz Dort has an $18,222,222 club option that could be declined for the same second apron reasoning that Hartenstein's may be. Keon Ellis, meanwhile, will be an unrestricted free agent who has seemingly fallen out of favor in Cleveland at 7.4 minutes per game during the playoffs.
Throw in sharpshooting veterans such as Harrison Barnes and Landry Shamet, and the tantalizing potential of Jeremy Sochan, and the Lakers could find multiple viable free agency targets in just one round.
Dort, Hartenstein, Robinson among potential UFAs in Conference Finals
Hartenstein is a fascinating player to consider as a tremendous screener, rebounder, and passer at the center position. Robinson is just as compelling as an elite offensive rebounder and shot blocker whose athleticism and defensive versatility know no bounds.
Both are in need of one last good impression, however, as Hartenstein has missed 60 games over the past two seasons, and Robinson was absent from 139 between 2022-23 and 2024-25.
Dort, meanwhile, was inefficient in 2025-26, but is an elite perimeter defender who has shot at a clip of .422/.384/.792 over the past three seasons. Ideally, he'll be able to showcase some of his offensive capabilities while turning in yet another excellent defensive series in the Conference Finals.
As for Ellis, he's long looked the part of a compelling 3-and-D guard with infectious intensity and a career mark of 40.7 percent from beyond the arc. The question is: Is he too thin to play big minutes in the playoffs?
Keon Ellis, Landry Shamet could be sneaky Lakers free agency options
Compounded by the questions that the likes of Barnes, Shamet, and Sochan can answer about how they'd fit with the Lakers, there's much to keep an eye on. Barnes, for instance, is a 33-year-old forward and a career 38.5 percent three-point shooter who played 25.8 minutes per game for a 62-win Spurs team in 2025-26.
Shamet, a 29-year-old guard, is a career 38.6 percent three-point shooter who has buried 39.4 percent of his attempts over the past two seasons.
Sochan, meanwhile, is the ultimate low-risk, high-reward potential free agent. He's a questionable offensive fit in the modern NBA, but at 22 years of age, he's already one of the most versatile defenders the game has to offer. If JJ Redick believes he can make it work, this could be a low-cost investment worth considering.
Every team will be watching the Conference Finals, of course, but with each of the Lakers' top seven players in minutes per game during the 2026 NBA Playoffs heading to free agency, no team needs to be more attentive than the purple and gold.
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