The Los Angeles Lakers are boarding the plane back from Slovenia having undergone no major changes among their personnel during the time of their team-bonding trip. No trades, signings, no sign-and-trades — things remain consistent with what they were when the excursion began.
Naturally, a move is coming at some point. The Lakers roster remains one player heavy at 16. That will need to be addressed before the season starts, and it is a situation that surely lingered in the back of at least a couple of players' heads while they were in Slovenia.
Lakers saying goodbye to Slovenia and Slovenian fans before boarding a plane back to LA 👋
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) August 24, 2026
IG/24ur pic.twitter.com/kygrdiXwIZ
In the meantime, it was business as usual.
The Lakers got to enjoy the tourism, the bonding, and the basketball tune-up without the concern of who is being relocated in a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade scenario, or otherwise. It was a much-needed win for a team that will employ a ton of new faces in the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Lakers survived Slovenia with no major roster changes to make the trip awkward
Eventually, this is a matter that gets its resolution one way or another. It cannot be avoided forever. The Lakers front office were wise to push back any roster plans here in the present.
Granted, it may have involved less tactful mastery and more of a genuine hold-up. The desired way for the Lakers to finalize their roster has been very clear and well-known for some time. They want Kuminga to reshuffle the depth chart in Los Angeles.
The free agent forward could still be weighing his options after Peyton Watson finally got a resolution to his own offseason saga. Many of the teams that were said to be interested in Watson were also connected to Kuminga. At least two of them (the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers) got involved in the finalized sign-and-trade for the now former Denver Nuggets wing.
Kuminga's list of potential suitors continues to shrink, and the Lakers look more and more like one of the two leading options for next season. Should that sign-and-trade eventually come to pass, there are a few players on the current roster who stick out as obvious candidates to potentially be moved.
Some combination of Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy, and Jake LaRavia could be part of the outgoing package that lands Kuminga in Los Angeles. None of those names had to deal with that awkward reality while in Slovenia. That can be chalked up as a win for everyone.
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