Overview

• Lakers GM Rob Pelinka vowed to exhaust every trade route alongside free-agency options to secure a starting center and bolster rim protection.
• Los Angeles has evaluated prospects such as Walker Kessler—whose acquisition could cost multiple first-round picks—along with Nic Claxton, Robert Williams III and veteran bigs including Clint Capela, Brook Lopez and Al Horford.
• Boston cleared salary by trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and is prioritizing re-signing Al Horford and Luke Kornet to preserve frontcourt depth under the luxury-tax apron.
• The New York Knicks plan to “check in” on Horford’s free-agency status and may target Kornet to shore up interior defense amid uncertainty around Mitchell Robinson.
• Dorian Finney-Smith’s impending decision on his Lakers player option will directly affect Los Angeles’s available cap resources as free agency opens.