The Los Angeles Lakers used free agency to largely put together the last championship team that hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the franchise. All the maneuvering that Rob Pelinka and the front office have done for the Luka Doncic retool suggests they will attempt to do the same here.
Flexibility, opportunism, freedom — those are all elements the Lakers have prioritized amid a mostly quiet trade deadline that just passed. There is not a ton of money on the books for next season and the one major commitment they must make, being Austin Reaves, can be delayed with the promise of a payday once other moves are finalized.
Kevin Pelton reminded everyone just how similar this all felt to the summer of 2019 in his latest write-up for ESPN. Free agency was the vehicle that ultimately guided them to the promised land.
Pelton wrote, "In many ways, the Lakers' position this summer is similar to the period after they acquired [Anthony] Davis to pair with [LeBron] James in 2019. The Lakers waited to make that move official, saving enough cap space to sign [their role players]."
Lakers are borrowing a strategy from their own free agency playbook
Much like that year, the Lakers do already have their star duo largely in place. Doncic and Reaves are the two guys they are expected to count on to lead this next era, barring a Giannis Antetokounmpo-sized miracle in the offseason.
The free agency pitch is simple: it's Los Angeles and you get to play with one of the best superstars on the planet. It does not need to be more complicated than that.
However, if it must go beyond that, the Lakers can offer some pretty penny to go with that. Many have been frustrated with the lack of headliners at the top of a free agency class this franchise is selling out for, but that was never really what Los Angeles was in the market for anyways.
Their primary need is not adding star power. It's filling out complementary pieces around the players they have identified as their leaders for this era.
Stealing someone like Peyton Watson away from the Denver Nuggets is what they are in business for during the offseason. This shouldn't be a star-hunting free agency push.
Whether a plan that worked in 2019 will still be effective in 2026 remains to be seen. However, the Lakers are clearly banking on that idea being one that remains a viable option for them.