Besides LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Lakers should target these unrestricted free agents
When it comes to unrestricted free agents, the Lakers will have a hard time finding better players on the market than the ones from their own team.
With LeBron James coming off an expiring contract and Austin Reaves expected to decline his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27, the top unrestricted free agents expected to be on the market this offseason are the longest-tenured Lakers stars.
Add in Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes and the Lakers have several unrestricted free agents who’ll draw interest from other teams.
That’s before getting to Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, both of whom have player options for next season.
The Lakers have made it clear they aren’t satisfied with how the 2025-26 season went after falling short of their ultimate goal of competing for an NBA title. And they need roster upgrades to achieve the championship roster they’re looking to surround superstar guard Luka Doncic with going into the 2026-27 season.
Unrestricted free agency is one of the many tools to make those upgrades.
Top teams have signed unrestricted free agents in their quest for a championship — from role players such as Spurs big man Luke Kornet during the 2025 offseason to stars such as Knicks guard Jalen Brunson during the 2022 offseason.
Besides James and Reaves, there won’t be any realistic star-level players available for the Lakers to potentially land.
But there are impactful ones.
Which unrestricted free agents who weren’t already on their roster should the Lakers target this summer?
Robert Williams, Trail Blazers, center 2025-26 stats: 6.7 PPG, 7 RPG, 1.5 BPG, 1 APG, 17.1 MPG
One of the Lakers’ biggest offseason priorities should be acquiring a center — or multiple big men — who better fit alongside Doncic.
A rim runner and lob threat who’s efficient with finishing at the basket.
A shot blocker and rim protector.
Someone who can make an impact on the offensive and defensive boards.
A center who’ll still make an impact with their energy and effort even if they’re not consistently getting touches offensively.
Williams checks many of these boxes as an ideal big man target for the Lakers.
The biggest concern is his availability after several injury-riddled seasons, primarily to his knees.
Williams’ 59 regular-season games played for the Trail Blazers last season are his most since 2021-22 and the second most of his career (behind the 61 he played as a full-time starter for the Celtics in 2021-22) since being the No. 27 pick in the 2018 draft.
And he’s averaged just 17.4 minutes in 85 games (four starts) over the last three regular seasons with the Trail Blazers — far from a workload expected of a starting center.
But in a limited role and for the right salary, Williams could make an impact for the Lakers in the ways they need.
Mitchell Robinson, Knicks, center 2025-26 stats: 5.7 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.2 BPG, 19.6 MPG
Similar to Williams, Robinson comes with his own durability concerns.
His 60 regular-season games played are his most since 2021-22, when he played a career-high 72 games including 62 starts.
He also played 59 games (58 starts) in 2022-23 before back-to-back injury-truncated seasons in 2023-24 (31 games played) and 2024-25 (17 games played).
But Robinson is a rebounding machine on both ends of the floor, a reliable rim protector and a strong finisher who remains a vertical threat near the basket.
And he has more experience with a higher workload compared to Williams, averaging 24.5 minutes from 2019-24 before coming off the bench regularly the last two seasons (19 minutes per game).
Robinson, the Knicks’ second-round pick in 2018, may be difficult to pry from New York after his contributions to its postseason success over the last few years, including this dominant run to the NBA Finals against the Spurs.
Jordan Goodwin, Suns, guard 2025-26 stats: 8.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 22.5 MPG
The Lakers know as well as any team the kind of impact Goodwin provides.
He was a key part of the Lakers’ rotation to close the 2024-25 season, showcasing his offensive rebounding talent, disruptive perimeter defense and improved 3-point shooting.
But the Lakers waived Goodwin last summer to make financial room to sign Smart, with Goodwin showing the improvements he made last season were here to stay.
Goodwin’s in line to receive a more lucrative contract this offseason after making $2.3 million in 2025-26.
Keon Ellis, Cavaliers, guard 2025-26 stats: 6.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 20.5 MPG
Ellis wreaks havoc defensively, helping each team he’s played on create more turnovers when he’s on the court.
He’s knocked down 40.7% of his 3s since entering the league in 2022, making him one of the better young 3-and-D guards in the league.
Ellis would provide an athletic and quickness upgrade to the Lakers’ backcourt.
Honorable mention: Ayo Dosunmu (Timberwolves), Kelly Oubre and Quentin Grimes (76ers).