Stretch bigs always fit well with Luka Doncic, as they space the floor for Luka and also give the team another rebounder on the court. This is precisely why Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is always monitoring stretch bigs around the NBA, or at least has been with an extra intensity since LA acquired Doncic a year and a half ago.
One name to watch in this realm for the Lakers is Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili, who is expected to decline his $2.8 million player option this summer and enter free agency.
The 27-year-old Mamukelashvili offers strength (6-foot-9, 240 pounds) and secondary scoring. He's a threat from outside and capable of exploding for huge nights, like when he erupted for 34 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench for the San Antonio Spurs on a random night during the 2024-25 season.
Lakers likely to miss out on Sandro Mamukelashvili
The Lakers would love to take a look at Mamukelashvili this summer, but unfortunately, it sounds like he might actually price himself out of LA's grasp, according to recent intel from HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.
"There’s an early belief that Mamukelashvili could command the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception or certainly a significant portion of it," Scotto wrote this week.
Mamukelashvili had the best season of his five-year career in 2025-26, and he finished No. 10 in Sixth Man of the Year voting because of it. Mamukelashvili averaged a career-best 11.2 points per game for the Raptors, who rose to considerable (and surprising) success in the Eastern Conference. Mamukelashvili shot an impressive 52.3% from the field and 38.9% from 3 (on 3.7 attempts per game), and he also pulled down 4.9 boards per night for Toronto.
When you adjust Mamukelashvili's numbers to a per 36 minutes basis, you're looking at 18.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals. The Raptors might think twice about re-signing him due to a subpar postseason, but plenty of other teams will be in on Mamukelashvili if Toronto is not.
Sandro Mamukelashvili would be a great Laker, but it's not looking meant to be
Having spent 2.5 years in San Antonio before joining the Raptors, "Mamu" has plenty of exposure to playing for franchises with great cultures and history. In essence, he's seen what winning looks like, and he's seen what playing under real pressure looks like. He wouldn't be daunted by playing for the Lakers.
The problem for the Lakers is that they aren't in a position, cap-wise, to win any bidding wars for free agents. LA has its own cap crunch-type situation going on with Austin Reaves expected to return on a near-max deal and LeBron James also widely believed to be returning. There isn't room for LA to overpay anyone on the role-player market. Someone else will surely give Mamukelashvili a solid payday, which will take the Lakers out of the running.
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