Alongside Kessler, the Lakers are also bringing in Mamukelashvili: Los Angeles is building a new frontcourt around shooting, rim protection and a younger core
The Los Angeles Lakers have continued an aggressive reshaping of their roster at the start of the NBA free-agent market. After reports that they had agreed on a deal with the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler, the California club is, according to new information, adding another big man with a different profile: Sandro Mamukelashvili. The Georgian power forward/center, who spent last season with the Toronto Raptors, has agreed to a four-year contract worth 52 million dollars, according to a report by ESPN's Shams Charania carried by Sportsnet. The same source states that the contract includes a player option in the fourth season, leaving Mamukelashvili the possibility of entering the market again if he continues to improve.
In the Lakers' context, this move is not isolated, but part of a broader change in the way the club is trying to shape the team for the 2026/27 season. According to NBA.com, on the same day the Lakers agreed on Kessler's arrival from the Utah Jazz in a deal that includes unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. Kessler, according to the same report, is expected to sign a four-year contract worth 130 million dollars. Such a package clearly shows that the Lakers were not looking only for short-term help under the basket, but for a longer-term answer at the center position.
Mamukelashvili enters that construction as a different type of big man. Kessler is above all a rim protector, rebounder and vertical threat in the paint, while Mamukelashvili is more interesting as a shooting big who can space the floor, attack from the second line and bring additional creativity on offense. According to Sportsnet, last season in Toronto he produced career-best numbers with averages of 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while shooting 38.9 percent from three-point range in 80 games, 13 of which he started in the opening lineup. For a team that wants to build an offense around elite playmakers, such a profile has clear value.
Why Mamukelashvili became a sought-after player
Mamukelashvili entered the NBA as a player with clear offensive strengths, but without a guaranteed major role. After spells with the Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs, he got a steadier opportunity to prove himself in Toronto and used it better than the value of his contract suggested. Sportsnet states that he arrived at the Raptors last summer on a two-year minimum contract, but that he quickly outplayed the salary framework he was receiving. It was precisely that gap between cost and performance that created a market in which he could seek a multi-year contract with an eight-figure annual value.
His appeal does not lie only in shooting percentages, but also in the way he can function within modern offensive systems. As a big man who can stand beyond the three-point line, Mamukelashvili opens space for drives by guards and wings. If the defense leaves him alone, he can punish the rotation with a shot; if the opponent closes out aggressively, he can put the ball on the floor, make a short pass or attack a slower defender. Such nuances are especially important for teams that want to have more than one way to attack and avoid a static offense in the closing stages of games.
With the Lakers, his shooting profile could be important alongside Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, two players who look best when they have enough space around them for drives, pick-and-roll and creation out of isolation. NBA.com, in its report on Kessler, states that Reaves, according to reports, agreed with the Lakers to remain with the team and that, alongside Dončić and Kessler, he should form an important part of the new core. In such an alignment, Mamukelashvili can be used as a power forward next to a traditional center, but also as a backup center in lineups that want to play wider and faster. His value will be highest if he maintains the shooting efficiency from Toronto while fitting into the defensive demands of coach JJ Redick.
Kessler provides the defensive foundation, Mamukelashvili offensive spacing
The arrival of Walker Kessler and the agreement with Mamukelashvili together reveal a clear idea from the Lakers: to increase size, youth and flexibility without relying on only one model of big man. According to NBA.com, Kessler averaged 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in five games of the 2025/26 season for Utah before a left shoulder injury kept him off the court for a longer period. The same source states that he finished the 2024/25 season with averages of 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 58 games. Those figures explain why the Lakers identified him as a priority, but also why the price in future draft picks is so high.
Kessler's primary task in Los Angeles should be to seal off the paint, control the defensive glass and give security to perimeter players who can pressure the ball more aggressively if they know they have a reliable rim protector behind them. His presence can change the geometry of the defense because opponents must account for a block on every drive. On offense, the simplest path to efficiency is through screens, rolls to the rim, offensive rebounding and finishes after passes from Dončić or Reaves. NBA.com states that before the injury, in a small sample, he made six of eight three-pointers, but that figure should be viewed cautiously because it concerns a very small number of attempts.
Mamukelashvili, on the other hand, is an addition who can soften Kessler's limitations in offensive spacing. If the Lakers use Kessler as a traditional center near the rim, Mamukelashvili can stand on the perimeter and pull the opposing big man out of the paint. If Kessler rests, Mamukelashvili can give the second unit a different rhythm, especially in combinations in which it is more important to have five players who can pass, move and shoot. Such variety does not guarantee success, but it gives the coach more options in series in which the opponent adjusts from game to game.
A major turn after the LeBron James era
The Lakers are entering this reconstruction at a moment when the identity of the team is also changing. NBA.com states that LeBron James informed the Lakers that he plans to play elsewhere in his 24th NBA season, which would mark the end of one of the most important stages in the club's recent history. If that outcome is confirmed through official moves, the Lakers' focus will shift even more toward Dončić, Reaves and younger players who can match their timeline. In that sense, Kessler and Mamukelashvili are not only reinforcements for next season, but elements of a new roster construction.
The change is important because the Lakers can no longer build a team exclusively around the logic of maximizing the final years of James' career. Dončić, one of the most dominant creators of his generation, requires a different type of supporting cast: centers who set strong screens, shooters who punish help from the perimeter and players who understand the tempo of the offense through his control of the ball. Reaves, according to reports cited by NBA.com, remains part of that core plan and brings secondary creation. Mamukelashvili fits precisely as a player who does not need to have the ball in his hands to be useful, but can help when the defense shuts down the primary attack.
At the same time, this approach carries risks. Kessler is coming off a season marked by a serious shoulder injury, so his health situation will be one of the most important topics of training camp. Mamukelashvili must prove that his production in Toronto was not just the product of a specific role and that he can maintain efficiency on a team with greater pressure for results and greater media exposure. The Lakers, meanwhile, in the deal for Kessler, according to NBA.com, gave up a significant amount of future draft capital, which reduces the room for corrections if the new direction does not deliver the expected progress.
Why the detail about the NBA moratorium matters
Although such moves are often described publicly as signings, the official framework of the NBA requires caution in the wording. According to NBA.com's explanation, the moratorium period runs from July 1 to July 6, and teams during that period cannot sign most free agents or formalize most trades. Clubs and players may negotiate from June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, but most contracts can be officially signed only on July 6 at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Time. That is why it is more precise to speak of an agreement between the Lakers and Mamukelashvili, or of a reported deal for Kessler, until the administrative part is completed.
That detail is not just a formality. During the moratorium, agreed deals do not count toward team salary and are not binding in the same way as signed contracts, NBA.com states. In practice, the vast majority of such agreements are indeed completed, but the history of the NBA market has shown that the difference between a verbal agreement and an official signature matters for accurate reporting. For the Lakers, that means the plan is clear, but the full picture of the roster will be formally confirmed only after the moratorium expires and official transactions are announced.
Financially speaking, Mamukelashvili's contract worth 52 million dollars over four years has an average annual value of 13 million dollars. That does not place him in the highest tier of NBA salaries, but it shows how much players of his type have gained in market value. Big men who can make a three-pointer, survive in multiple defensive assignments and connect the offense are no longer a luxury, but a necessity for a team that wants to play deep into the playoffs. The player option in the final season further increases the value of the contract for the player because it gives him flexibility if his market price rises.
What Toronto loses and Los Angeles gains
For Toronto, Mamukelashvili's departure is the loss of a useful rotation player who last season brought shooting, energy and a certain tactical breadth off the bench. Sportsnet states that his stay with the Raptors ended after a season in which he set personal records in multiple categories. Toronto will now have to find a way to replace the minutes of a big man who can play both alongside a center and as a small-ball five, especially if the team wants to maintain its level of offensive spacing. In his case, the Raptors had an example of a player who, on a minimum contract, became significantly more valuable than the initial investment.
For Los Angeles, the gain is different. The Lakers are not bringing in Mamukelashvili as a primary option, but as a complementary player who can raise the functionality of lineups around the main creators. In the best-case scenario, he becomes a reliable shooter from frontcourt positions, a secondary passer and a player who allows the coach to change the rhythm of the game without a major drop in offensive organization. In a more realistic scenario, he will be an important part of the rotation whose minutes depend on the opponent, shooting form and how well he can withstand defensive assignments against faster wings or stronger centers.
The most interesting question will be whether Los Angeles can use Kessler and Mamukelashvili at the same time in important minutes. On paper, the combination of rim protection and three-point shooting sounds attractive, but its success will depend on the speed of defensive rotations, the ability to switch and how much opponents can attack the space between the big men. If that combination proves to work, the Lakers will gain a dimension they have not had with enough stability: size without completely sacrificing space. If it does not work, Mamukelashvili will still have value as a shooting big in minutes without Kessler.
The first real answers will come only after the end of the moratorium, summer preparations and the start of training camp. The Lakers, according to available reports, have already shown their direction: they want a younger, bigger and more tactically versatile team around Dončić and Reaves. Kessler gives them a defensive anchor that was paid for dearly with future picks, while Mamukelashvili brings an offensive profile that could open space and make the rotation less predictable. Whether that will be enough for a return to the top of the Western Conference will depend on health, chemistry and the ability to quickly turn the new pieces into a functional whole.
Sources:
- Sportsnet – report on Sandro Mamukelashvili's agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers, contract value, player option and statistics from the season in Toronto (link)
- NBA.com News Services – report on the reported deal between the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler, the price in draft picks, the expected contract and Kessler's statistics (link)
- NBA.com – official explanation of the NBA free-agent market, the moratorium and deadlines for negotiations and signings (link)
- NBA.com – Sandro Mamukelashvili's profile and posts about his status on the free-agent market (link)