Los Angeles Lakers Seek Frontcourt Solutions After Kuminga Decision

The Los Angeles Lakers built their summer around one chase. Jonathan Kuminga chose Minnesota.

That single decision has forced a hard pivot in Los Angeles, and it comes at an awkward time for a franchise already boxed in by the cap and the clock.

A Roster Jammed, Yet Still Incomplete

As Khobi Price of the California Post outlined, the Lakers’ failed pursuit of Kuminga leaves a clear gap in the frontcourt. They still need a power forward. They still need a backup center. And they’re running out of room to maneuver.

The numbers are brutal. Their payroll sits just $8.1 million below the NBA’s $209 million first-apron threshold, locking them into a hard cap for the 2026-27 season. The roster already holds 16 players on guaranteed deals. That’s a full house on paper, but not a balanced one.

They have a month before training camp. The needs are obvious. The paths to fixing them are not.

The Walker Kessler Question

The urgency at backup center is easy to understand.

Walker Kessler, the new starting big man acquired from the Utah Jazz in a major sign-and-trade in July, remains a question mark. He played only five games last season. For a team with postseason ambitions, betting everything on a center coming off that kind of absence is asking for trouble.

So the Lakers are scanning a thin big-man market, where demand is heavy and supply is light. Price reports that if they decide to deal, two names sit on their radar: Bucks center Jericho Sims and Bulls big man Jalen Smith.

Neither is a star. Both are realistic. That matters for a team low on assets.

Limited Bullets in the Chamber

The Lakers’ trade ammunition is almost spent.

They control only their own 2033 second-round pick. They hold a pair of second-rounders from the Wizards in 2031 and 2032, acquired when they flipped Deandre Ayton for Jaden Hardy. The lone first-round pick they can cleanly swap in a trade is in 2032.

After that, the asset cupboard is filled mostly with contract flexibility rather than blue-chip value: players who could effectively become expiring deals if team options for 2027-28 are declined, such as Hardy and Dalton Knecht.

This is the reality: Los Angeles is shopping in the “deep rotation” aisle. They are not prying loose another team’s cornerstone. They’re looking for a No. 2 or No. 3 center who can survive playoff minutes without sinking a lineup.

Jericho Sims: A Vertical Threat on the Cheap

Jericho Sims fits that profile.

At 27, he may be on the move in Milwaukee, Price notes, slotted as the Bucks’ third center behind Myles Turner and Kel’el Ware. That status alone makes him the kind of player a team like the Lakers can at least inquire about without detonating its future.

Dan Woike of The Athletic framed Sims as an intriguing fit next to Luka Doncic, highlighting the kind of player he is: big, bouncy, and built for a “run-and-jump” role. Sims is a dunker, a rebounder, an above-the-rim presence who doesn’t need the ball to impact a game.

There are flaws. Scouts question his defense away from the basket. He has never consistently produced over a long stretch. But for a team that needs a vertical spacer and some energy behind Kessler, he checks boxes at a price point the Lakers can actually reach — likely for second-round draft capital.

In a market this tight, that alone makes him relevant.

Jalen Smith: Motor, Shooting, and a Price Tag

Jalen Smith offers a different package.

At 26, he’s a smaller big man, listed at 6-foot-8, but he brings elements this Lakers roster could use: activity, shooting, and a relentless motor. Woike notes that Smith has supporters inside the organization, impressed by the way he plays and the outside shot he has developed.

He is not a classic rim protector. He is not a towering presence in the paint. But as a modern stretch big who can space the floor and bring energy to bench units, he fits the shape of where the league is going.

The catch is cost and availability.

Smith is owed $9.5 million for one more year. That’s not cheap for a team tiptoeing under the apron. On top of that, the previous Bulls regime liked him, which throws his actual availability into doubt. Chicago may decide he’s more valuable on their bench than as a mid-tier trade chip.

For the Lakers, that means any push for Smith must be precise: is his blend of shooting and effort worth the squeeze on their books and their few remaining assets?

A Narrow Path to Clarity

This is where Los Angeles stands: hard-capped, asset-light, roster-heavy, and still missing key pieces in the frontcourt.

They can chase Sims, betting on athleticism and a simple role behind Kessler. They can probe for Smith, gambling on shooting, motor, and a higher price tag. They can try to find a power forward solution on the margins and hope internal growth fills the rest.

What they cannot do is stand still.

Training camp is a month away. The West is unforgiving. And after missing on Kuminga, the next move in the Lakers’ frontcourt will say plenty about how they plan to survive — and contend — in a league that doesn’t wait for anyone.