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Luguentz Dort now calls the state of Georgia home after the Oklahoma City Thunder shipped him off to the Atlanta Hawks in a trade that landed three second-round picks in return. The Los Angeles Lakers could not have been happy with the missed opportunity.
Make no mistakes about it, too, Rob Pelinka and the Lakers were in on this one. Michael Scotto confirmed as much in his latest round-up of rumor mill intel for HoopsHype. Los Angeles was one of four teams explicitly linked to Dort before Sam Presti sent him to Atlanta.
"Several teams expressed trade interest in acquiring Dort before he was traded to Atlanta, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, and Miami Heat, league sources told HoopsHype."
If the Lakers are really as enamored with Dort as the rumors suggest, they should get their opportunity to land him in the 2027 offseason. The former Thunder wing is entering the last year of his five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Hawks in 2026-27. After the season is over, the tenacious defensive stopper is set to hit unrestricted free agency.
Lakers have the money to add Luguentz Dort in 2027 free agency
Dort is still just 27 years old. That lines him up just fine for an immediate future in Los Angeles that is built around Luka Doncic. Even by the time that 2027 free agency arrives, the Hawks wing will only be up to 28 years old. The timeline fit is there.
Theoretically, so is the on-court fit. Dort represents a similar skill set to that of Marcus Smart that thrived in Los Angeles in 2025-26. The Canadian wing is more limited on the offensive end than Smart, but if his deep ball is falling, no one will really care about that.
With Doncic around to create those offensive opportunities, there should be confidence in Dort rediscovering the offense touch that eluded him in 2025-26. That is likely what the Lakers were selling themselves on when pursuing him this summer.
They failed in 2026, but 2027 can be a redemption arc, if they want it.
The Lakers can expect to have access to the full nontaxpayer midlevel exception after Austin Reaves left money on the table and Sandro Mamukelashvili included a second-year dip in his new contract. That money can be used toward acquiring Dort.
There will undoubtedly be other attractive free agents on the market that Los Angeles can spend on. Max Christie immediately jumps out as a strong alternative. However, if the Lakers do like Dort as much as the rumors suggest, his trade to the Hawks can just be a brief detour in the journey toward wearing purple and gold.
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This article was originally published on lakeshowlife.com as Lakers still have a path to Luguentz Dort after Thunder trade miss.
