After a slow start to day one of free agency, Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers finally got active, signing Sandro Mamukelashvili, Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, and Collin Sexton.
Obviously, the biggest of these moves is the Kessler signing, given the price LA paid for him and Luka Doncic's continued desire to have a real starting center. However, the move that is being extremely overlooked is the Lakers landing Sandro Mamukelashvili on a four-year $52 million deal with a player option for the fourth year.
Mamu had a breakout campaign with the Toronto Raptors in the 2025-26 season, finishing in the top-10 in Sixth Man of the Year voting, averaging 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 38.9 percent from three. His ability to be a floor spacer in a frontcourt spot is something the Lakers have been missing, and is something Luka hasn’t had since his days in Dallas.
During Luka’s seven years with the Mavericks, his most successful season was the 2024 campaign, where he led Dallas to the NBA Finals alongside Kyrie Irving. Outside of the incredible duo that was Luka and Kyrie, the third most important player on that team was P.J. Washington, who, like Mamu, brought size and floor spacing. Luka loved playing with Washington because it helped generate easy offense, and he can now look to replicate that success with an even better three-point shooting forward in Mamu.
The Lakers have given Luka his next P.J. Washington
On the Mavericks' path to the 2024 NBA Finals, Luka driving to the basket and kicking it out to the corner for a Washington three was a staple of Jason Kidd’s offense.
The NBA has become such a drive-and-kick game, and that’s something JJ Redick’s offense was missing in the 2025-26 season. Mamu now helps give this team a safe option to hit off the ball or on the trail in transition that every team in the modern NBA needs.
When you have two guards like Reaves and Luka that command so much attention both on and off the ball, being able to have these catch-and-shoot aces like Mamu or Quentin Grimes is incredibly valuable. It gives an elite playmaker like Luka an escape route if a defense sends two at him late in the shot clock.
Mamu isn’t a perfect player—like Washington, he struggles as a rim protector and rebounder for a frontcourt piece. So how did Dallas counter that and help maximize Washington’s skillset? By pairing him with an elite shot-blocker and defensive rebounder in Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. Pelinka was able to replicate exactly that and then some with the Walker Kessler signing.
We saw how potent Washington and Luka were together, and now LA gets a chance to replicate that with a way better shooter in Mamu. Between his regular-season games with Dallas and the playoffs in 2024, Washington only shot a combined 32.7 percent. Meanwhile, Mamu is coming off a season where he shot 38.9 percent. Let that sink in.
We’ve seen before that Luka thrives in scenarios where the floor is spaced out, and he has maximum room to operate. This Mamu signing helps provide that and gives Luka the type of archetype he thrived next to in Dallas with P.J. Washington.
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