Los Angeles Lakers' Summer Overhaul: Frontcourt Concerns and P.J. Washington
The Los Angeles Lakers have torn up the blueprint this summer and started again.
Every starter from last season’s first-round playoff series is gone. In their place: fresh legs, new faces, and a clear mandate from the front office — get younger, get deeper, and build a cleaner ecosystem around Luka Doncic.
They’ve been aggressive. They’ve been bold. They’ve also hit a wall.
A Miss on Kuminga, a Hole Up Front
The first big swing that whiffed came with Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga chose the Minnesota Timberwolves on a two-year deal, and the fallout in Los Angeles is obvious. As Khobi Price of the California Post put it, the failed pursuit “has left them with a hole in the frontcourt.” That’s not a minor detail. It’s the one spot on the roster that still glares when you scan down the depth chart.
The financial picture tightens the screws. The Lakers sit just $8.1 million below the NBA’s $209 million first-apron threshold, hard-capped for the 2026-27 season. Sixteen players already hold guaranteed contracts. That’s a full roster and then some, with almost no wiggle room.
So the needs are clear, the cap is rigid, and training camp is about a month away. The question inside and outside the building is the same: where does the next solution come from?
P.J. Washington: The Name That Won’t Go Away
One name keeps circling back into the conversation: P.J. Washington.
The connection is obvious. Washington played some of his best basketball alongside Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks. He’s a stretch forward who can space the floor, defend multiple positions, and slide into lineups that lean into Doncic’s playmaking.
On paper, he fits the hole.
On the Lakers’ internal board, he doesn’t.
“Off the bat, we’re starting with a player the Lakers have repeatedly said they have no interest in, if that gives you a sense of how dry the market is,” Lakers reporter Jacob Rude wrote in a fan mailbag, capturing just how strained the search for a frontcourt answer has become.
After the early free agency spree, Washington looked like an obvious solution from the outside. Reports quickly cut that idea down. The sticking point wasn’t the player. It was the contract.
Washington is owed a fully guaranteed $88.8 million over the next four years — nearly $90 million committed to a non-star at a time when the Lakers are trying to maintain flexibility around Doncic. As Price noted, that figure “isn’t appealing to the Lakers.”
This isn’t about talent. It’s about cost and timing. The Lakers don’t want to lock themselves into a mid-tier contract that could clog their books just as they try to build a contender around their franchise cornerstone.
Waiting Game or Missed Opportunity?
Could that stance soften?
The NBA calendar has a way of changing minds. A slow start, an injury, a surprise breakout elsewhere — front offices reassess, sometimes overnight. The trade deadline has salvaged many a stalled roster plan.
League insider Jake Fischer sees a different angle, one that starts in Dallas, not Los Angeles.
“I think Dallas could really stand to benefit from both P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford playing their way into greater trade value this season,” Fischer reported. For now, though, he added, “I haven’t heard of any team targeting P.J. Washington for sometime. Daniel Gafford has had far more trade interest, to my understanding.”
That’s a telling detail. Washington is part of a frontcourt in Dallas that already carries a heavy financial weight — over $300 million invested, with younger players pushing from behind and eyeing future paydays. At some point, the Mavericks will have to choose who they’re truly building around and who becomes a trade chip.
If Washington doesn’t generate strong interest around the league, Dallas may be forced to soften its asking price. That’s where the Lakers could re-enter the picture, not as eager suitors, but as opportunists.
If the market cools.
If the price drops.
If the roster still screams for another frontcourt body.
Then the calculus changes.
For now, the Lakers are standing firm on Washington’s contract and staring at a frontcourt that still feels one piece short. The summer overhaul has brought energy and intrigue, but not yet completeness.
The next move — or the decision not to make one — will say plenty about how urgently this franchise believes it must win with Luka Doncic right now.
