Lakers linked to $60 million center

The Los Angeles Lakers have been tied in recent reports to two separate offseason paths: a search for more center help and a possible return for veteran guard Marcus Smart. Sporting News on May 18 highlighted Daniel Gafford, the former Dallas Mavericks center and NBA champion target described in reports as a fit for Los Angeles’ frontcourt needs. A separate Sporting News report, republished by Yahoo Sports, said the Lakers have interest in retaining Smart, the former Boston Celtics guard who joined the team on a two-year, $11 million deal in July 2025. The reports point back to a broader Lakers offseason theme laid out by The Athletic’s Dan Woike and Sam Amick: Los Angeles wants better center play, more lob threats and more defensive support around Luka Dončić. Secondary accounts citing that report said the Lakers were looking for centers who resemble the skills of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. (sportingnews.com) ### Why is Daniel Gafford part of the Lakers conversation? Daniel Gafford has emerged in Lakers-linked reporting because his rim-running style overlaps with the kind of center Los Angeles has reportedly prioritized around Dončić. Sporting News said the Lakers were linked to the former Mavericks big as a possible offseason target. Yahoo Sports carried the same Sporting News report a day earlier. (fadeawayworld.net) The Athletic-derived reporting cited elsewhere described the Lakers’ interest in “true lob threats” who mimic Gafford and Dereck Lively II. That framing matters because Gafford played that role next to Dončić in Dallas, giving the Lakers a familiar template if they pursue a center addition this summer. That is an inference from the reported roster criteria and Gafford’s prior fit with Dončić. (sportingnews.com) ### Is Gafford actually on a $60 million contract? Daniel Gafford’s deal has been described in some reports as worth “nearly $60 million,” but salary databases list the extension at about $54.4 million over three years. Spotrac lists Gafford’s current Dallas contract at $54,380,290, with a 2026-27 salary of $17.26 million. Hoops Rumors, citing ESPN and Marc Stein, reported in June 2025 that Gafford intended to sign a three-year extension worth about $54 million, while some other outlets rounded that figure up to $60 million. (fadeawayworld.net) That difference means the “$60 million” label is shorthand rather than the precise filed number. The practical point for the Lakers is that Gafford is not an expiring minimum-salary option; he is under a multiyear veteran contract in Dallas. ### What is the Marcus Smart decision the Lakers are facing? Marcus Smart is part of the Lakers’ offseason because he can opt out and seek a longer-term contract, according to reporting cited by Sporting News. (spotrac.com) The Sporting News story, citing The Athletic’s Dan Woike and Sam Amick, said: “Smart, whom Doncic recruited in free agency, could opt out of his deal and seek a longer-term contract,” and added that “The Lakers have interest in retaining him.” ESPN reported on July 19, 2025, that Smart planned to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Lakers after his buyout with the Washington Wizards, and Yahoo Sports said the second year was a player option. That option is what now puts Smart’s status into the Lakers’ summer planning. ### How did Luka Dončić factor into Smart’s arrival? (sportingnews.com) Luka Dončić was reported to have recruited Marcus Smart to Los Angeles last summer. Sporting News said Woike and Amick identified Smart as a player Dončić recruited in free agency, and Smart said at his introductory news conference that Dončić had called and checked on him. “For him to say that he can really use my help, that meant a lot,” Smart said, according to Sporting News. (espn.com) Yahoo Sports’ July 2025 report on Smart’s signing also said Dončić reached out to recruit him to the Lakers. That gives the retention question a direct link to the Lakers’ effort to keep building around Dončić’s preferences and style of play. ### What comes next for the Lakers? (sportingnews.com) The Lakers’ next concrete decisions center on roster mechanics rather than public declarations. Smart must decide whether to exercise his player option or enter free agency, and Los Angeles must determine whether to use its offseason assets on center help, wing defense or both. (sports.yahoo.com) The named participants in those next steps are already clear: Rob Pelinka’s front office, Dončić as the roster’s centerpiece, Smart as an opt-out candidate and Gafford as one of the centers linked in outside reporting. The moves themselves will come during the NBA offseason transaction window that follows the playoffs. (sportingnews.com 1) (sportingnews.com 2)