Peyton Watson? Tari Eason? Robert Williams III? What Players Should the Lakers Chase?

The Lakers have to figure out how to resign their own key free agents, starting with Austin Reaves and (probably) LeBron James, and moving on to (probably) Rui Hachimura. But to improve the team, they're going to have to find some new guys, too. They can't just run it back and expect a different result. (Especially after selling the Bold Summer of '26 to fans for a while.) So at the least, the Lakers need to kick the tires on what is ultimately a weak year for free agents. 

Particularly the unrestricted variety. Because while guys like Peyton Watson, Tari Eason, Walker Kessler and Jalen Duren would look great next to Luka, they're also going to be darn near impossible to pry away from their current teams without the Lakers going crazy large on an offer sheet. Like, renounce everyone and throw all that money to your RFA big. Not a great strategy. 

So who are the players in the next tier? The ones who still come with a big price tag, but nothing like the guys above? 

And given their limited trade chips and a cap situation that isn't quite as flexible as it's sometimes presented, how should LA prioritize offseason needs? 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The restricted free agents like Peyton Watson? Don't get your hopes up. 

SEGMENT 2: Where should the Lakers look? 

SEGMENT 3: Deeper options at C and F. 

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