The Los Angeles Lakers are being linked to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort this summer, but two practical hurdles could keep them from making the move. One is price. The other is the cost in draft capital if Oklahoma City decides not to let him walk.
Dort is on the kind of short list the Lakers are expected to explore as they look for 3-and-D help. If the Thunder decline his $18.2 million team option for the 2026-27 season, he could reach the open market as a free agent, where one NBA insider has estimated he could command about $17 million per year. That would make him a substantial investment for a team trying to improve around the edges rather than clear the board.
That is why Marcus Smart keeps coming up in the same conversation. Smart is expected to decline his player option and enter the market this summer, and he is projected to cost about $12 million per year. Dort is younger and a more consistent shooter, but Smart already has rapport with Luka Doncic and with the Lakers' style under head coach JJ Redick, which gives him a cleaner fit at a lower price.
If Oklahoma City keeps Dort under contract, the Lakers could still try to pry him loose in a trade. That path, though, looks expensive in a different way. The Thunder would be in position to demand a first-round pick, and the discussion does not stop there; Los Angeles would also have to part with additional player assets to make a deal work. For a team that has to protect both flexibility and future picks, that is a meaningful ask for one perimeter defender.
Dort, who is represented by Klutch Sports Group, has the profile the Lakers are likely to chase if they want size, defense and shooting on the wing. But the market may decide the answer for them. If Oklahoma City declines the option, the cost shifts to salary. If it picks it up, the cost shifts to assets. Either way, the Lakers are weighing a fit against a price that may be hard to justify.
That leaves the Thunder with the first move. Their decision on the 2026-27 team option will determine whether Dort becomes a free agent, stays in Oklahoma City or turns into a trade target that sends the Lakers into a bidding war they may not want to enter.
