local-sports · August 7, 2026

The Lakers After LeBron.

LeBron signed with Philadelphia. The Lakers spent four first-round picks on a center who missed most of last season. Why this roster might still work.

by Support LoCal Staff

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The chapter closed on a Friday in July.

LeBron James announced on 24 July that he was signing with the Philadelphia 76ers — two years, $8 million, with a player option.

He called it his "last decision," and wrote that he had genuinely believed he was finished when the season ended before deciding he still had more to give.

Eight seasons in Los Angeles.

One championship, in 2020.

The all-time scoring record.

And now he will finish somewhere else, alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown.

For most franchises that is the start of a rebuild.

The Lakers went the other way, and did most of it in about thirty-five minutes on a Wednesday morning.

What they actually did.

The centrepiece was a sign-and-trade with Utah for centre Walker Kessler — four years, $130 million, with a player option and a full trade kicker.

It cost unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 plus first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030.

That is four first-round assets.

It is a lot, and it is the part of this offseason people will argue about for years.

In the same window they added Quentin Grimes on four years and $60 million, Sandro Mamukelashvili on four years and $52 million, and Collin Sexton on two years and $19 million.

Kevon Looney came later on a one-year veteran minimum for frontcourt depth.

Going the other way: LeBron, Marcus Smart to Houston, Luke Kennard to Phoenix, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton traded to Washington.

Jaxson Hayes signed with Utah.

The roster is younger, deeper, and — as ESPN put it — totally unproven.

The Kessler question.

Here is the thing most previews skip: Kessler missed most of last season with a left shoulder injury.

He is 24, he is one of the best rim protectors in the league when healthy, and the Lakers have needed exactly that since Anthony Davis left.

Last season they ran Ayton and Hayes at centre and were repeatedly hunted in the paint.

But four first-round assets for a player coming off a lost year is the definition of a bet.

If the shoulder holds, it is the move that gives this team a defensive identity for the next five seasons.

If it does not, it is the worst kind of trade — expensive, irreversible, and made in a hurry.

Coaching staff comments this summer suggest they think his offence is underrated too: touch around the rim, a developing jumper, and screen-setting that should suit Luka.

It is Luka's team now.

There is no ambiguity left about who this franchise belongs to.

Every move points the same direction: surround one of the best offensive players alive with defenders, shooters, and finishers who do not need the ball.

Grimes averaged 13.4 points off the bench in Philadelphia last season.

Sexton gives them a downhill scorer against second units.

Mamukelashvili can play four or five and stretch the floor.

None of them are stars.

That is deliberate.

Last year's Lakers asked two players to generate almost everything and got swept by Oklahoma City in the second round for their trouble.

JJ Redick finally has a roster that matches the plan.

Last season Redick spent most of his time adapting to what he had.

This roster looks like it was assembled to his specification — more shooting, more spacing, more length, more ball movement.

The teaching will not be the hard part.

Trust is.

Four significant new players and a completely rearranged hierarchy takes months to settle, and the Western Conference will not wait.

And then there is Bronny.

When LeBron chose Philadelphia, the assumption was that Bronny would follow.

He did not — reporting suggests the Lakers were keen to keep him.

Which means that for the first time in his professional career, the conversation about him is not primarily about his father.

That is not the same as expecting a leap.

It means the opportunity is now his own: defend, move the ball, take the open shot, bring energy in the minutes he gets.

Every rotation in this league needs players who understand exactly what their job is.

If he becomes that, people will stop introducing him as LeBron's son and start describing him as a Laker who plays hard.

So are they contenders?

Honestly — probably not yet, and the honest version is more interesting than the optimistic one.

They are deeper, younger, and much better equipped defensively than last season.

They also have a $130 million centre coming off a shoulder injury, a first-time-as-the-only-star Luka, four new rotation players learning each other, and a conference containing Oklahoma City and a San Antonio team built around Victor Wembanyama.

What has changed is the direction.

For the first time in several years this team is growing together rather than growing older together.

That is not a championship.

It is something the Lakers have not had in a while, which is a plan.

What it means out here.

When the Lakers matter, this county behaves differently.

Restaurants fill before tip-off. Sports bars staff extra shifts. The print shop runs jerseys. The taqueria stays open late because people want somewhere to go after. We wrote about the same effect with the Dodgers — a good season is a revenue calendar for several hundred small businesses that will never appear in a single preview.

Nobody knows how this season goes. But a Lakers team worth watching on a Tuesday in January is worth real money to people who live here, and that is a reason to pay attention beyond the standings.

Championships aren't won by replacing legends. They're won by giving the next group a reason to become them.

Transaction details via ESPN, NBA.com, and Yahoo Sports; accurate as of August 2026. Find somewhere to watch. Own a local business? Tell us about it. Or recommend a business you love.