The Los Angeles Lakers are most likely to trade Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, per The Athletic’s John Hollinger.
Both Vincent ($11.5M) and Kleber ($11M) are on expiring contracts, making them easier to move in potential deals, especially if the Lakers attach their only tradeable first-round pick (2031 or 2032).
“Los Angeles must tread carefully because it’s so close to the first apron, where the Lakers are hard-capped, but adding $23 million in salary is possible if Vincent and Kleber are the outgoing salaries,” wrote Hollinger, a former NBA executive.
“They can net even bigger fish by including Jarred Vanderbilt’s $11.5 million, but his contract is likely problematic because it runs through 2027-28.”
Lakers Offseason Plans
Hollinger acknowledged that the Lakers “don’t need to chase bad deals” as doing so would disrupt their cap flexibility for 2026 and 2027. As is widely documented, the Lakers have ambitious plans over the next two offseasons, when they can open up in excess of $70 million in cap space to build around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves .
Entering the 2026-27 season, only Doncic and ($49.8M), Jarred Vanderbilt ($12.4M) and Jake LaRavia ($6M) are on guaranteed contracts, while LeBron James , Vincent, Kleber, Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes could all become free agents. Furthermore, Deandre Ayton ($8.1M) and Marcus Smart ($5.39M) own player options, and are not confirmed to return to Los Angeles for another season.
The Lakers’ No. 1 priority in the 2026 offseason would be to lock Reaves into a long-term commitment, per several insiders. As such, they could be wary of taking on multi-year contracts this year with an eye towards 2026 and 2027.
Biggest Roster Issue
It has been widely acknowledged that the Lakers, who rank 20th in defense, need to make defensive upgrades before the Feb. 5 deadline, with names such as Andrew Wiggins , Herb Jones, Keon Ellis and Daniel Gafford floated as possible targets.
Both Vincent and Kleber could potentially be used in deals for Jones or Gafford, as their combined salaries should prove enough. However, Wiggins, who is owed $58 million through 2026-27, would be a more difficult acquisition, which could require the Lakers to part with multiple players and their only first-round pick.
The one issue that could prevent any Lakers trade is that teams around the league don’t value their future first-round pick, per The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
“According to league sources, that future Lakers pick, which could be in 2031 or 2032, is less valuable than it was viewed both before the Luka Dončić trade and since Mark Walter’s acquisition of the franchise,” Woike reported on Dec. 11.
“The belief is that since Walter has proven to be an effective owner with the Los Angeles Dodgers , that he and whoever he entrusts the franchise to will, at minimum, keep it from the kind of freefall that would truly make that future first-round pick less of a lottery ticket.”
While Gabe Vincent is averaging 4.7 points and 1.4 assists through 14 games, Maxi Kleber is giving the Lakers 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds through 10 appearances. Vincet, despite his horrific 35% shooting from the field, has earned 21.5 minutes per game due to his reputation for shooting from deep and guarding perimeter threats. The former Miami Heat player has started in six of his 14 games thus far.
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