Lakers Offseason Chaos: Kessler's Arrival and Gafford's Potential Trade
The Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason hasn’t so much unfolded as it has spiraled.
Another twist arrived this week when a name Lakers fans are exhausted of hearing about signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, closing the book on a pursuit that dragged on and ultimately left Los Angeles empty-handed. It was just the latest jolt in a summer that has already seen the franchise change ownership for the second time in 14 months.
The Lakers still have holes. Real ones. And with the market thinning out, one stands out more than the rest: backup center.
They finally landed their man in the middle. Now they have to figure out who protects them if he goes down.
Kessler Arrives, Questions Remain
Los Angeles addressed its most glaring need by prying Walker Kessler away from the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade, a move that cost them dearly in assets but, on paper, fits the roster’s new identity.
“The Lakers filled their biggest need by landing Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade with the Jazz to pair the 7-foot-2, 245-pound big man alongside (Luka) Doncic and (Austin) Reaves — ending a multiyear saga of attempting to bring Kessler to Los Angeles and finally giving Doncic the type of big man he typically thrives alongside,” Khobi Price wrote for the California Post.
That’s the vision: Doncic operating with a vertical threat and rim protector who can clean up the back line and punish defenses in space. But there’s a catch that no one in the building can ignore.
Kessler played just five games last season.
For a team that has tied so much of its new era to the Doncic–Kessler partnership, the margin for error behind its starting center is razor-thin. The Lakers don’t need a star as a backup. They do need someone they can trust for 20–25 minutes a night if Kessler’s body doesn’t cooperate.
Free agency, at this stage, offers little comfort. The appealing bigs are gone. What’s left are flyers, not answers.
So the gaze turns to Dallas.
The Gafford Door Cracks Open
Daniel Gafford has hovered around the Lakers’ orbit ever since Doncic arrived in Los Angeles 19 months ago. The logic is obvious: he’s a big who already knows how to play off their franchise cornerstone.
According to NBA insider Brett Siegel, the Mavericks quietly tested the waters on Gafford while exploring sign-and-trade options for Klay Thompson, who ultimately joined the Miami Heat as a free agent.
“(The Mavs) believed that they could get something (in a trade for Thompson),” Siegel reported. “… There was nothing there. They were talking with teams about Daniel Gafford, about potentially trading him. Again, nothing really ever happened there.”
Nothing materialized. But the message was clear enough. Dallas is at least open to moving Gafford.
For the Lakers, that’s the kind of crack in the door you don’t ignore.
A first-round pick in 2019, Gafford broke out alongside Doncic during the Mavericks’ run to the 2024 NBA Finals. As Dallas’ starting center that season, he averaged 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, numbers that only tell part of the story. He ran the floor, finished lobs, protected the rim and, most importantly for Los Angeles, showed he could thrive in the same offensive ecosystem the Lakers are now trying to recreate.
You don’t have to guess if he fits with Doncic. You’ve already seen it.
The Cost of Protection
All of that makes Gafford an attractive target. The problem is the bill.
Price has already outlined the fallout from the Kessler move: the Lakers paid heavily to get him, and their asset cupboard looks bare.
“Without (Jonathan) Kuminga, the answer to who’ll be their fifth starter is likely already on the team. Every other starting-caliber or pseudo starting-caliber wing/forward free agent for a team looking to contend in the playoffs has already been signed. Those types of players aren’t easy to trade for, and the Lakers lack the draft capital to credibly make a deal,” Price wrote.
That reality doesn’t just affect their hunt for a wing. It bleeds into any conversation about a Gafford trade.
The 27-year-old is due roughly $17 million next season. To make the money work, the Lakers would almost certainly have to send out a rotation piece such as Jarred Vanderbilt, who is owed around $12 million. On top of that, the word around the league is that Dallas wants a first-round pick in any Gafford deal.
The Lakers don’t have one to give.
This is where timing and leverage come into play. If no team meets the Mavericks’ asking price and the market for Gafford cools, Dallas may have to adjust its stance. A front office that has already signaled a willingness to move him might not hold firm forever if the offers never arrive.
For Los Angeles, that’s the hope: that patience, not panic, creates an opening.
Because the equation is simple. The Lakers have their starting center, but he’s coming off a season lost to injury. They have their superstar guard, with a track record of elevating big men like Kessler and Gafford. What they don’t have is a safety net behind the new anchor of their defense.
If the price on Gafford drops into a range they can stomach, the Lakers’ chaotic summer could still deliver one more move that actually makes sense.
If it doesn’t, they’ll walk into the 2026–27 season with their most important insurance policy still missing.
