Amid constant questions about their approach to building around four-time NBA champion LeBron James and All-Star big man Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers continue to be regarded as a potential destination for marquee players that they might acquire via trade or free agency.

However, recent rumors regarding suggest that the Lakers would have financial difficulties in making such a move due to the new CBA.

Consequently, “there's no big game hunting out there for this [Lakers'] organization,” according to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

“In this league right now, with a new collective bargaining agreement, you can't really pay three max contracts, three max superstars and expect to have any depth on your roster. It's going to look a lot the same…”

Potential free agent targets like Kyrie Irving and Fred VanVleet would likely demand a larger salary than the Lakers could free up with their cap space.

Furthermore, even if the Lakers could swing a trade for stars such as Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard or Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, it could come at the expense of all of their significant assets.

Consequently, retaining impending restricted free agents Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura appears to be the number one goal for the Lakers this offseason. Both players broke out during the 2023 NBA Playoffs, emerging with starting potential.

With their youth, effort, upside and two-way impact, keeping them in the rotation makes plenty of sense.

That said, if they were Phoenix Suns were to waive Chris Paul, the 12-time All-Star could be their biggest free agent target outside of the organization. A move that may or may not prevent them from bringing back D'Angelo Russell, a skilled player that looked a bit out of place during the postseason trying to find his fit in the starting lineup.