{"id":178037,"date":"2026-02-17T11:28:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=178037"},"modified":"2026-02-17T11:28:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:28:43","slug":"report-lakers-have-discussed-3-pending-free-agent-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/02\/17\/report-lakers-have-discussed-3-pending-free-agent-wings\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Lakers Have \u2018Discussed\u2019 3 Pending Free Agent Wings"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Lakers return from the All-Star break after a relatively quiet trade deadline, the focus is partially shifting to how the team will approach this summer, when they\u2019ll have three first-round picks to trade as well as roughly $50 million in projected cap space.<\/span><\/p>\n

With 3-and-D targets remaining a priority, ESPN\u2019s Dave McMenamin revealed a few names that have generated buzz internally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Report: Lakers Have \u2018Discussed\u2019 3 Pending Free Agent Wings<\/h2>\n

Familiar Names at the Forefront<\/h3>\n

The Lakers tried and failed to land a two-way wing with size at the deadline, but this summer presents another chance the team can\u2019t afford to whiff on. As an East front office member <\/span>told McMenamin<\/span><\/a>, LA will \u201cneed to get as many defenders with length that can knock down a shot as possible.” McMenamin then brought up several players that fit the bill, including three who have been considered within the organization: unrestricted free agent <\/span>Andrew Wiggins<\/span><\/a> and restricted wings <\/span>Peyton Watson<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Tari Eason<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAn unrestricted free agent who has been discussed internally, sources told ESPN, is Andrew Wiggins, but he has a player option with Miami he could exercise. Tobias Harris, Quentin Grimes and Dean Wade are other players who fit that profile.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lakers have also privately discussed restricted free agents Tari Eason and Peyton Watson, sources told ESPN, and could land the latter if Denver, which already has $215 million in salary committed to returning players for next season, doesn’t match the offer sheet.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Jan
Jan 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) controls the ball as Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes (11) and forward Jake LaRavia (12) guards in the third quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Andrew Wiggins<\/h4>\n

A former Lakers trade target and 2022 NBA champion, Wiggins has emerged as a successful two-way wing the Lakers (and other contenders) would covet. The 30-year-old has averaged 15.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .471\/.395\/.767 splits, while chipping in 1.2 steals and 1.0 block defensively. Waiting for him in free agency seems like a far better move in hindsight after previous <\/span>discussions between the Lakers and Heat<\/span><\/a> fell through.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wiggins has already proven he can thrive on a winning team as the second, third or even fourth option, and he\u2019s made meaningful contributions despite Miami\u2019s middling record (29-27, 8th in East). Although he\u2019d be a worthy get for the Lakers to relieve pressure off of <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a>, the team must convince him to take a decent pay cut, below the $30 million player option he could decline to enter free agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tari Eason<\/h4>\n

Tari Eason<\/span><\/a> has battled ankle and knee injuries this season, but they have not stopped his efficient play for the <\/span>Houston Rockets<\/span><\/a>. In 31 games (17 starts), he has averaged 12.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 45% from the field and 46% from deep. The 6\u20198\u201d wing boasts a 7\u20192\u201d wingspan that\u2019s helped him guard multiple positions, versatility the Lakers certainly need up front.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Houston\u2019s rising stars at 24 years old, it would be difficult for the Lakers to pry him away regardless of how the Rockets\u2019 season goes, given Houston\u2019s right to match any offer sheet and the <\/span>complicated financial situation<\/span><\/a> they\u2019ll face. Still, Eason is worth a shot for his potential on both sides of the ball and fit within the Lakers\u2019 timeline.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peyton Watson<\/h4>\n

Yet another rising star who\u2019s taken the league by storm, Watson has emerged as a hot commodity this summer, quickly developing into a young talent for the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets. Across 49 games (39 starts), the 23-year-old has put up 14.9 points on nearly 50% shooting (41% from deep), while adding 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.2 blocks per game.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>high-flyer<\/span><\/a> burst onto the scene in the wake of <\/span>Nikola Jokic<\/span><\/a>\u2019s <\/span>left knee injury<\/span><\/a> in January, proving he could carry an increased workload while the three-time MVP was out. Watson barely lost his step after Jokic returned on Jan. 30, <\/span>averaging 19.3 points<\/span><\/a> in his last four games before going down with a hamstring injury. Still, his stellar production has caught the attention of rival contenders, with the <\/span>Lakers already preparing<\/span><\/a> to be a part of that chase.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Los Angeles-area native and former UCLA Bruin, Lakers fans would surely embrace Watson in the purple and gold. With LA looking toward the future while being mindful of the present, targeting the fourth-year wing is a no-brainer, considering his experience around elite talent and his deep hometown ties.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 William Liang-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Lakers return from the All-Star break after a relatively quiet trade deadline, the focus is partially shifting to how the team will approach this summer, when they\u2019ll have three first-round picks to trade as well as roughly $50 million in projected cap space. With 3-and-D targets remaining a priority, ESPN\u2019s Dave McMenamin revealed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":178039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62,3],"tags":[212,4556,1133,48957,4475],"class_list":["post-178037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-andrew-wiggins","tag-austin-reaves","tag-luka-doncic","tag-peyton-watson","tag-tari-eason"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178037"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178045,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178037\/revisions\/178045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}