Insider: Lakers have called Thunder about Luguentz Dort

It looks like the Los Angeles Lakers‘ pursuit to improve their roster and field a championship-caliber cast has begun in earnest.

One of their biggest needs is at least one athletic two-way wing, and given the lack of options in unrestricted free agency, the Lakers may end up having to execute a trade to upgrade their personnel. They have been linked to Peyton Watson of the Denver Nuggets and the Houston Rockets‘ Tari Eason, but both of them will be restricted free agents, which means their current teams can match any outside offer.

NBA reporter Jake Fischer wrote on the “Stein Line” Substack that Los Angeles has called the Oklahoma City Thunder about Luguentz Dort, a wing who seems to fit the archetype of the player it needs.

“I’m also told that the Lakers have called the Thunder about swingman Lu Dort’s availability,” Fischer wrote.

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“Oklahoma City is facing a well-chronicled roster crunch, with 15 players currently under contract and two first-round picks to make at Nos. 12 and 17 barring draft-night trade activity, sparking a belief that the Thunder might be open to trading Dort after picking up his $17.2 million team option to make it easier to re-sign big man Isaiah Hartenstein. Oklahoma City holds a $28.5 million team option on Hartenstein and is generally seen as a lock to retain his services either by picking up the option or working out a longer-term deal with him at a lower annual salary.”

“I’m also told that the Lakers have called the Thunder about swingman Lu Dort’s availability,” Fischer wrote.

“Oklahoma City is facing a well-chronicled roster crunch, with 15 players currently under contract and two first-round picks to make at Nos. 12 and 17 barring draft-night trade activity, sparking a belief that the Thunder might be open to trading Dort after picking up his $17.2 million team option to make it easier to re-sign big man Isaiah Hartenstein. Oklahoma City holds a $28.5 million team option on Hartenstein and is generally seen as a lock to retain his services either by picking up the option or working out a longer-term deal with him at a lower annual salary.”

With the extensions for Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren about to kick in, the Thunder will have to pay a huge amount of money to keep their team together. That may necessitate them jettisoning one or two of their rotation players in order to avoid the harsh penalties of the salary cap, and it’s a situation a team such as the Lakers could take advantage of.

Dort is known as an excellent defender, and at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he has some bulk on his frame. He’s also a capable supplementary scorer who has a career average of 11.6 points a game.

However, although he has been a good 3-point shooter in the past, he made just 34.4% of his 3-point attempts this season, compared to 41.2% last season and 39.4% the previous season. Los Angeles needs more outside shooting threats, and it remains to be seen if Dort can help with that weakness.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Insider: Lakers have called Thunder about Luguentz Dort