![\"Phoenix](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/phoenix-suns-v-los-angeles-lakers-palm-springs-california-october-06-e1788604045559.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: Head coach JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks with media prior to the game against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena on October 06, 2024 in Palm Springs, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have generated no shortage of headlines this summer, starting with their ownership going through more drama. Let\u2019s just say instability at the highest level of the organization isn\u2019t helpful, especially with a crucial season of the Luka Doncic<\/a> era coming up.<\/p>\n \u201cOne other element that cannot be ignored is the fire surrounding the Lakers organization,\u201d Lakers insider Khobi Price wrote. \u201cMark Walter recently sold the team for a whopping $12.5 billion to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. That came amid a federal investigation into Walter\u2019s financials. Not long afterwards, the Buss family attempted to sell their stake in the Lakers. \u2026 Amidst all of that turmoil, even Klay Thompson<\/a>, whose father is a Laker legend and attempted to persuade his son to come to Los Angeles, opted for Miami.So, one is left to wonder whether the current state of the Lakers has anything to do with NBA<\/a> stars looking elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n L.A. is trying to assemble the best supporting cast around Doncic, but ownership instability can\u2019t exactly be helpful in that regard. Meanwhile, the Lakers still have major roster needs to address and not much time on hand. Will they bring in a starting power forward for Doncic?<\/p>\n A Major Word on the Lakers\u2019 Top Two Rumored Targets<\/p>\n \n The Lakers have been linked to countless forwards this offseason, from P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones<\/a> Jr. to Saddiq Bey<\/a> and De\u2019Andre Hunter. Will anyone become available? Will the Lakers push to acquire any of the players they are being linked to? According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, it appears the team will ultimately decide to move away<\/a> from Washington and Jones.<\/p>\n \u201cThe top teams in the league, are you confident in that player starting against those teams and holding their own at that position doing what you need. \u2026 I don\u2019t have the same level of confidence in guys like De\u2019Andre Hunter, Kyle Kuzma<\/a>, Grant Williams<\/a> doing that at a starting level, doing that at 24 minutes at night, 26 minutes a night, 28 minutes a night compared to guys like P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., etc.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, I think that my preferred plan would be go get the P.J., go get the DJJ; it doesn\u2019t seem like that\u2019s the way things are trending right now, especially with the Lakers on a certain T at the ownership level and that looming over potential moves right now \u2026 it seems like right now they\u2019re going to move forward with this group and, again, maybe there\u2019s waiving someone or doing some sort of two-for-one (trade) or dumping a guy somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Buha continued to say it appears that the Lakers roster is mostly set and that he doesn\u2019t expect a move of note to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n L.A.\u2019s Best Bet May Be to Look Internally<\/p>\n It sure makes sense for the Lakers to put together a package and acquire a player who can slot into the starting lineup from Day 1. After all, why would you not at least go to that level when the goal is to immediately contend for a championship?<\/p>\n For one, the Lakers don\u2019t have attractive trade capital and, with them being already close to the apron line, they\u2019ll have to unload a player on a larger contract like Jarred Vanderbilt<\/a>, who is said to have minimal to no trade value because of his injury history and the deal he is on.<\/p>\n But the Lakers went out and signed Ziaire Williams<\/a> and Sandro Mamukelashvili<\/a>, in part, as a failsafe in case Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> landed elsewhere. At this point, L.A. has plenty of incentives to stand pat at least until the midseason trade deadline and see what their existing forwards can deliver to the team.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAdel Ahmad<\/a> Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. More about Adel Ahmad<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: Head coach JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6],"class_list":["post-828649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-lakers","tag-basketball","tag-la","tag-la-lakers","tag-lakers","tag-lalakers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleslakers","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117218810909428008","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1788177984_dallas-mavericks-v-oklahoma-city-thunder-oklahoma-city-oklahoma-november-17-e1788173788222.jpg\")
GettyOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA \u2013 NOVEMBER 17: P.J. Washington<\/a> #25 of the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> walks down the floor during the second half agianst the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> at Paycom Center on November 17, 2024 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Joshua Gateley\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n