Nikola Jokic. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Stephen Curry. All three are NBA champions, NBA Finals MVPs, and multi-time NBA MVP winners. They are also all slated to potentially hit free agency in 2027.
The Los Angeles Lakers are poised to have a golden opportunity to secure one of those legendary names in their efforts to help Luka Doncic lead the franchise to a title. All that hype and anticipation has grown rather large in Los Angeles. The bar has been set, and the letdown could be massive.
There is a strong second tier of stars currently available too. Bobby Marks highlighted that Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, and Kawhi Leonard could all be names that become free agents in 2027 as well.
The problems with all of this is how many of those guys realistically get to that point. Time and time again, the trade market has proved to be the most common place setting for players of this caliber to find their new teams. If that proves to be the case again, the Lakers will be in trouble.
Modern NBA makes star-studded free agency a false hope for Lakers
The situation that would be most promising of the three main attractions for the Lakers would undoubtedly be that of Antetokounmpo. The rest of the NBA world is waiting for the Milwaukee Bucks superstar to conceptualize just how bad his chances of winning again are in his current environment.
If Antetokounmpo were to give the Bucks the benefit of the doubt all the way up to his potential free agency date, without making a full commitment to the franchise, there may be a chance for the Lakers to swoop in and pair the two-time MVP with Doncic. That specific set of circumstances will be crucial.
Should Antetokounmpo decide to force his way out via trade request, the Lakers would face an uphill battle to land him with their limited assets. Alternatively, Giannis could just prove to be a one-team superstar and commit himself to the hellscape despite the lack of team success.
Lakers fans should fear Jokic doing the same. The Nuggets have been aggressive in 2025, impressively retooling the supporting cast around their superstar center. The desire to leave after such efforts would not be obvious from an outside perspective.
Moving on to the ultimate one-team superstar of this generation, Curry has been with the Golden State Warriors for his entire career. It is especially difficult to imagine him shedding that label this late into his career.
Perhaps one of the second tier stars listed above would provide a passable solution to replacing LeBron James as the running mate for Doncic. There are certainly some solid names among the bunch. Even in that scenario, though, it would be difficult to not find disappointment in the result, relative to the current hype surrounding the summer.