What are the Lakers needs and who are they targeting for roster makeover?

The Lakers are under a full-on roster reconstruction.And their latest move on Friday, trading Deandre Ayton to the Wizards for Jaden Hardy and two of Washington’s second-round picks (2031 and 2032), made clear another area they need to address while making it easier for them to reconfigure the roster. Ayton joined LeBron James (next team to be determined), Marcus Smart (Rockets), Luke Kennard (Suns) and Jaxson Hayes (Jazz) as players from the Lakers’ 2025-26 squad who’ll be on another team next season.Add in Rui Hachimura, who remains an unrestricted free agent and has multiple teams expressing interest in signing the 6-foot-8 forward, and there’s a strong likelihood the Lakers won’t return any of the players who started for them (Smart, Kennard, James, Hachimura and Ayton) in the first five games of their first-round playoffs series victory over the Rockets. The players the Lakers are adding: Walker Kessler (four years, $130 million), Quentin Grimes (four years, $60 million), Sandro Mamukelashvili (four years, $52 million), Collin Sexton (two years, $19 million) and Hardy (two years, $12 million). That’s in addition to re-signing Austin Reaves (four years, $185 million) and selecting Cameron Carr with the No.24 pick of the draft and signing him to his rookie scale contract (four years, $16.8 million) on Thursday.  California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story And with two roster spots, four tradeable draft picks and a little bit more financial flexibility at their disposal, the Lakers’ focus is on addressing the glaring holes on the roster.A backup big man behind Kessler and a defensive-minded wing/forward who, ideally, can start alongside Kessler, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and possibly Grimes. As currently constructed, the Lakers are ver...