The 2025-26 NBA season is officially over with the New York Knicks being crowned champions for the first time in 53 years. But now the offseason is officially here and the Los Angeles Lakers are entering an extremely important summer that could potentially shape this franchise for many years with the moves they could make.
The team plans to build this roster around superstar guard Luka Doncic and there are a number of extremely important dates coming up as they look to leap into championship contention.
NBA Draft: June 23 & 24
The Lakers hold the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft and have the opportunity to add a young, promising piece to this roster that is admittedly lacking in young talent. In the past, the Lakers have shown the ability to find excellent players in this range of the draft and potentially doing so this year would be huge as they look to build this roster.
While they don’t own a second-round pick, the Lakers have shown the willingness to trade into the draft as well and if there is a player they covet, this front office could very well make a move. There is also the possibility the Lakers include this pick in a trade, so either way, these two days will give an idea of which direction the Lakers are headed this summer.
Player/Team options deadline: June 29
Decisions on player and team options must be made on June 29 before the start of free agency, and the Lakers have multiple players with decisions to make. Austin Reaves will almost certainly decline his player option, but Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton also have player options for next season and their statuses are much more up in the air. The Lakers also have a team option for guard Nick Smith Jr.
Smart’s option is for $5.39 million, while Ayton’s is at $8.1 and Smith’s is for just $2.49 million. But with the Lakers looking to maximize their salary cap space, it is anyone’s guess as to what they will decide.
Free agency negotiations begin: June 30
At 3 p.m. PT, teams can officially begin negotiating with free agents and the Lakers have a number of players set to hit the open market. Chief among them are Reaves and LeBron James, assuming he chooses to return for his 24th NBA season. But there are plenty of other important role players hitting the market as well for the Lakers in Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes and Luke Kennard, not to mention Smart and Ayton if they opt out as well.
The Lakers will have to balance prioritizing certain players whom they want to return while also identifying and targeting players whom they feel will improve this roster. The team is believed to want to improve their perimeter defense with young, athletic two-way wings, as well as rim-running bigs who fit with Doncic.
California Classic Summer League: July 3-6
The Lakers will once again compete in the California Classic Summer League alongside the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center. This will be a great chance to get a look at promising wing Adou Thiero and see the improvements he has made this offseason, as well as whomever the Lakers add in the NBA Draft.
Free agency signings begin: July 5
At 9 p.m. PT on July 5, teams can officially sign players in free agency. While contracts will be agreed to before this date, this is when they can become official. And the order in which these signings are announced and made official is extremely important as well with the Lakers trying to maximize their salary cap space.
Las Vegas Summer League: July 9-19
The Las Vegas Summer League features all 30 NBA teams and this will provide the most extensive look at Thiero and any other potential young pieces that could be invited to training camp or even earn a spot with the team via a two-way contract.
Players like Reaves and Alex Caruso have stood out and earned their way on the team with their performances in Vegas and there is always the possibility that a new, currently unknown player can break out.
After the NBA Draft takes place, the official schedule for the Las Vegas Summer League and when exactly the Lakers will play will be released.
Lakers Media Day & beginning of training camp: September date TBD
The official start to the 2026-27 season with new and returning players coming together will take place towards the end of September, and there is always such a level of excitement and hope on this day. Media Day followed by the start of training camp means the new season is right around the corner.
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