The dust might be more or less settled on the roster which the Los Angeles Lakers will be taking into the 2025-26 NBA season. However, it would be genuinely shocking if this were the exact team that the Lakers have ahead of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.

There are still issues with the team that only a trade will ultimately fill. With Luka Doncic and LeBron James both expressing a desire to win in the present, there should be no doubt Rob Pelinka will be making a move or two before the 2026 NBA trade deadline eventually comes to pass.

Dalton Knecht

Dalton Knecht has minimal, if any, job security with the Lakers right now. The sharpshooting second-year pro was already forced to deal with the harsh realities of the NBA when the Mark Williams fiasco took place. It would be surprising if that is his last time handling the impact of a trade.

Knecht has not done a ton to reassure the Pelinka and the front office of why the Lakers marksman is worth keeping around. Last year’s rookie firmly fell out of the rotation late into the season. Knecht was not a big part of the Lakers’ short playoff run either.

The disappointments do not end there. A lackluster summer league run has left many wondering about whether a change of scenery has become a necessity at this point.

Knecht’s estimated $4 million contract for 2025-26 makes him an easy candidate to help salaries work in a trade. There should also still be teams out there who see the value in what the former Tennessee star can bring.

The Lakers’ efforts to firmly establish themselves as a contender will almost certainly involve Knecht. It just won’t be in an on-court capacity.

Gabe Vincent

Gabe Vincent never really lived up to the contract the Lakers handed him in free agency. His brutal playoff flop during this past season only served as another reminder of that fact.

The good news for Los Angeles will be that 2025-26 is the last year of his three-year, $11 million deal. As an expiring contract, Vincent can be floated in any trade the Lakers need him for.

Whether it be to a rebuilding team that wants to shed the salary by year’s end, or a contender somehow still convinced that a better fit can lead to better production, the Lakers backup guard will have value. Pelinka will need to maximize him, alongside the other expiring deals, eventually.

Maxi Kleber

While on the subject of utilizing the expiring contracts on the roster, Maxi Kleber firmly joins that conversation. The Lakers big man will be earning $11.0 million in the final year of his current agreement.

Pairing Vincent and Kleber in a trade package immediately adds up to the salary of someone who can be a truly impactful player for the Lakers. It would not be totally surprising to see Knecht involved in that exact same deal either.

Kleber can serve as a last line of defense from having a repeat of last year’s woeful center situation until February. However, it is difficult to imagine him still executing that task in March for the Lakers.