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With the 2025-26 campaign concluding on Saturday night with the New York Knicks defeating the San Antonio Spurs to capture their first championship since 1973, the Los Angeles Lakers can officially turn their attention to the offseason.
If Los Angeles’ list of targets is as lengthy as many have reported, the franchise should be primed for an impactful summer. According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, a former Knicks All-Star could be one of them.
“The Golden State Warriors acquired Porzingis ahead of the trade deadline from the Atlanta Hawks, but injuries ravaged the roster throughout,’ Pincus wrote Saturday. “Porzingis dealt with calf and health issues, limiting his contribution. Still, when near full strength, though lacking Jimmy Butler, the Warriors were fun to watch.”
“The Warriors could seek out LeBron James in free agency to play with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Butler (when healthy), and Porzingis, but the money gets tight under the first apron should James command the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception.”
“That could limit Golden State's offer to Porzingis to closer to $8 million. If so, he could return to the Hawks. Porzingis could intrigue the Lakers with his scoring ability, or any number of teams with the full mid-level in need of scoring size.”
If the Warriors don’t re-sign Porzingis in free agency, it’ll be safe to say the Porzingis experiment in the Bay was a failure. The goal for the Dubs was to make a midseason addition that would help them navigate their way to the postseason and become a dark-horse title contender.
Golden State’s inability to advance past the Play-In with Porzingis as Curry’s newest co-star ultimately crushed its dreams, though, making it reasonable to question its decision to acquire the former lottery pick in February.
Porzingis' noticeable injury issues would make signing Porzingis a massive gamble for any franchise moving forward (he’s only appeared in 60+ regular-season contests twice since entering the league in 2015).
At the end of the day, though, the Lakers need a big man in the worst way imaginable after Deandre Ayton’s troubling two-way play, and if they discover Porzingis is the most attainable target, they may have no choice but to add him to the equation.
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