Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka would need to upgrade almost a half-dozen rotation spots on the Lakers to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2026-27, and that's simply not possible.
As Pelinka's front office looks ahead to next season, the talent gap between LA and the Thunder is far too wide to bridge, even if Pelinka pulls off a stunning offseason. It's a money thing. The Lakers' cap space isn't as bounteous as everyone seems to assume. Even with a healthy Luka Doncic primed for a resurgence next season, Pelinka isn't going to have the cap space required to build a deep, athletic roster around Doncic that could challenge OKC or the San Antonio Spurs.
The boys over at the Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective podcast are well aware of this reality, and they've been shouting it out to the world. Lakers fans should start listening. With Windhorst constantly reminding fans that LA is probably about to re-sign LeBron James and definitely about to give Austin Reaves a max deal, there won't be that much money leftover to go around, not unless James decides to play for pennies (and why would he do that? He's an All-Star still).
Brian Windhorst reminds Lakers fans that Rob Pelinka doesn't have a lot of cap space to work with
"I think the Lakers' cap space ... is kind of a myth," Windhorst said on a recent episode of the pod.
Windy's colleagues, Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, are both aligned with Windhorst on the premise that the Lakers simply won't have enough cap space to create the roster necessary to compete with the Western Conference elite next season.
Bontemps asserted that the Lakers would need to improve five to six rotation spots to become a "credible threat" to the Thunder in 2026-27, an offseason project that he accurately labeled as impossible for Pelinka. Windhorst pushed back on that number, saying the Lakers need something like three rotational improvements. But Bontemps' point shone brighter -- the Lakers were "demolished" by the Thunder in almost every meeting this past season, and it never looked like LA was on the same plane as OKC, even back when Luka was healthy.
Even if the number was three (Windy's number), it would be tough for Pelinka to make those additions this summer without taking away some of the impact players that LA already has, or is counting on re-signing, such as Rui Hachimura or Luke Kennard. Pelinka is facing an impossible task. Fans need to start re-adjusting their expectations.
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