Before the Lakers landed the center the team has stated is an offseason priority, L.A. reshaped its roster at the wing position at the start of NBA free agency Monday.
The Lakers agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract with forward Jake LaRavia, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
L.A. will sign LaRavia with a portion of the $14.1 million midlevel exception that became available after forward Dorian Finney-Smith agreed to a four-year, $53 million deal with the Houston Rockets on Monday, sources told Charania.
Finney-Smith, 32, is recovering from surgery on his left ankle to address lingering discomfort, sources told ESPN. The procedure will allow Finney-Smith to play pain free when he is expected to return to the court during training camp, sources said.
Houston will add a valuable 3-and-D contributor in Finney-Smith to its new-look group after trading for Kevin Durant last week. He finished the season averaging 7.9 points on 44.2% shooting (39.8% from 3), 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 43 games for the Lakers. And despite his ankle issues, Finney-Smith’s defense was as effective as it had been in years — he held opponents to 49% effective field goal percentage as the closest defender last season, his best in a season since 2018-19.
LaRavia, 23, averaged 8.6 points on 48.1% shooting (43.9% from 3) and 3.3 rebounds in 12 games in March for the Sacramento Kings, finding his footing with the franchise after being part of a three-team deal that sent him from the Memphis Grizzlies to Sacramento at the trade deadline.
LaRavia, at 6-foot-8, 235 pounds with a reputation as a tenacious defender with playmaking capabilities, had other suitors but viewed the Lakers as the best spot for him and his future, sources told ESPN.
“Hope Lakers fans as excited as I am,” LaRavia posted to his Instagram story Monday night, “let’s work.”
After trading three second-round picks, D’Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis to the Brooklyn Nets in December to acquire Finney-Smith, L.A. had interest in re-signing the nine-year veteran, but his departure opened up “Plan B,” in free agency, sources told ESPN.
By Finney-Smith leaving, L.A. has access to the full midlevel exception, rather than the taxpayer’s MLE — worth approximately half at $6.7 million — and also the biannual exception, worth approximately $5.1 million.
Though Finney-Smith was a popular locker room figure and helped the Lakers to a 14-6 record in the 20 games he started in the regular season, L.A. exercised discipline in its negotiations to preserve cap space for 2027, when the team expects to have space to sign a max-salary free agent.
