Lakers Quietly Make Key Roster Moves on Two Young Players: Report

The Los Angeles Lakers got hit with some interesting news on Sunday following LeBron James‘ decision to opt into his contract for the 2025-26 season. However, his future with the team appears to be up in the air.

While they continue to try to resolve that situation, the Lakers have plenty of other moves to make. After spending some time with the South Bay Lakers, guard Jordan Goodwin was able to earn a roster spot and even break into the team’s rotation.

He did enough to impress Los Angeles, and according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith, the Lakers have picked up his $2.3 million team option, which gives him a “lightly” guaranteed contract through the 2025-26 season.

A big reason for his strong season in Los Angeles was thanks to his improved shooting. He hit a career-high 38.2% of his 3-point attempts. If he can continue to improve that aspect of his game, he may be able to get a long-term contract next offseason.

Goodwin has been bouncing around the NBA since he went undrafted in 2021, but he has a chance at a long-term home with the Lakers. He’ll need another strong season in 2025-26 to ensure that happens.

Lakers Tender Offer to Christian Koloko

25-year-old center Christian Koloko was another young veteran the Lakers took a flyer on last season who might have a chance to stay on the roster. He only played 37 games last season and never cracked the playoff rotation, but the Lakers appear to like his upside.

Smith reported that Los Angeles tendered a two-way qualifying offer to Koloko. While it remains to be seen if he’ll accept, he is now set to be a restricted free agent, which means the Lakers will have the right to match any offer that another team makes to Koloko.

Considering the young center isn’t a household name yet, this should make it easier for the Lakers to retain him in free agency.

Lakers Have Big Decisions Looming

As noted earlier, James opted into his contract for the 2025-26 season, which means he plans to play. However, it might not be with the Lakers. His agent, Rich Paul, dropped some commentary that would suggest that James might want to be traded.

“LeBron knows the Lakers are building for the future, and he also wants to compete for championships,” Paul told The Athletic and ESPN. “We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie (Buss) and Rob (Pelinka) and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”

If James wants to be traded, there’s not much the Lakers can do. At this stage of his career, he’s not going to get the team much in return, but he can get them something. With James on the roster, the Lakers can contend for a championship, but that likely won’t be the case if he gets traded. It’ll be a tough call for general manager Rob Pelinka to make.