The Lakers wanted Trey Murphy III. They are not getting him. So what comes next?
Rob Pelinka has a roster around Luka Doncic and LeBron James that needs at least one more starting-caliber wing. The Murphy door slammed shut, which means Los Angeles has to pivot to plan B fast. The good news is that the league still has options. The bad news is that none of them are as clean as Murphy.
The top target now is Lu Dort.
The Thunder wing has a team option for the 2026-27 season, and Oklahoma City has to decide whether to lock him in long-term or use him as trade ammunition for additional flexibility. Dort would fit the Lakers perfectly. He is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, he hits enough corner threes to keep defenses honest, and he is the exact role-player archetype Luka thrives next to.
The cost would be steep. The Thunder are not just going to hand over Dort for cap relief. The Lakers would have to include their 25th overall pick in the 2026 draft, plus a future first, plus an expiring contract like Hachimura. Sam Presti is not in the business of helping Western Conference rivals, so the price probably includes premium assets.
Whether the Lakers have enough to make that deal work is the real question.
The De’Andre Hunter situation is also worth revisiting. Hunter was traded to the Sacramento Kings as part of the three-team deal that sent Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis to Cleveland. The Lakers had been deep in those negotiations and looked close to landing Hunter before the framework broke down. Hunter is signed through 2027-28 at $24 million per year. He is younger than Dort. He shoots well from three.
The Kings might be willing to flip Hunter if Sacramento decides the fit is not what they hoped for. That would give the Lakers a second bite at the apple.
Daniel Gafford is another name on the board. The Mavericks center was traded as part of the Luka Doncic deal earlier this year and currently sits in Dallas, but reuniting him with Luka would give the Lakers an athletic, rim-running center to fit between LeBron and Doncic. The center position is a real weak spot on the current roster, and Gafford specifically would solve a lot of problems.
The Mavericks are unlikely to trade Gafford. He is on a team-friendly deal and they need his frontcourt production. But every player has a price, and the Lakers’ picks in 2031 and 2033 might be enough to start a conversation.
The salary cap math is what makes all of these trades hard. The Lakers are deep into the luxury tax. The first apron is restrictive. Aggregating salaries is harder than it used to be under the new CBA. Any move Pelinka makes has to be carefully constructed to stay below the team-building thresholds that govern trades, signings, and roster construction.
This is the part of the job that is harder than it looks. Pelinka has to make the Lakers better, navigate the apron rules, and do it with limited draft capital. Most front offices would struggle in that spot. The Lakers have been getting away with margin-thin trades for years because of the LeBron tax break that comes with being the most popular franchise in the league.
If everything else fails, the Lakers could play it conservative. Re-sign Reaves. Use the taxpayer mid-level exception on a veteran wing. Run it back with internal development from Knecht. That path keeps the team competitive but does not raise the ceiling.
The high-ceiling moves are Dort, Hunter, or a third option that has not yet appeared on the trade rumor radar. Pelinka needs to swing big or accept that this season is the year the Lakers get bounced in the second round again.
Luka is 27. LeBron is 41. The window is open right now and it is not going to be open forever. The front office has to make a move.
The Murphy chapter is closed. The next chapter starts now.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
