The morning of NBA free agency beginning came with a shockwave as LeBron James decided to leave the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons with the storied franchise.
Reports of James’ intention to sign with a new team arrived several hours before free agency officially opened at 3 p.m. PT on Tuesday. While a loss for the Lakers, it provided president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka timely clarity in what’s an important summer.
As the Lakers now look to build a roster around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, they reportedly are poised to meet with Kelly Oubre Jr. according to Kelly Iko of Yahoo.
Free agent wing Kelly Oubre Jr. plans to meet with the 76ers, Pacers, Blazers and Lakers among others, sources tell @YahooSports.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) June 30, 2026
Oubre just completed his 11th season and third with the Philadelphia 76ers. His 3-point shooting rebounded to 36% after a woeful 29% two seasons ago. Oubre brings some athleticism on the wing but there are health concerns. He played in just 50 games this past season and 60 the year prior.
Oubre was a key member on a 76ers team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals. So too was Quentin Grimes, who is the subject of interest from the Lakers as well. Oubre was specifically lauded for his defensive effort on Jaylen Brown as the 76ers overcame a 3-1 series deficit.
The Lakers went into the offseason needing to sort through the respective futures of James and Reaves, and looking to fulfill Doncic’s wish of adding a top center.
Jalen Duren, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Mitchell Robinson are among big men the Lakers have been connected to. Though, Duren, a restricted free agent, is thought to have a preference on orchestrating a sign-and-trade to the Sacramento Kings.
Lakers salary cap without LeBron James
James not re-signing with the Lakers didn’t have any impact on the team’s salary cap projections. They still had $52 million in salary cap space, which factored in Reaves’ hold.
Along with cap room, the Lakers have the $9.4 million midlevel exception to use.
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