The Lakers may chase Pelter: Ujeri asks for a very high price, President Peace only wants to send Reeves to the cornerstone

On May 16, HoopsHype famous reporter Michael Scotto reported that if Pelter failed to renew his contract with the Raptors, teams like the Lakers who seek center upgrades may have trade interest. Previously, Pelter expressed his hope to renew his contract and stayed with the team. Raptors general manager Ujri also called him the team's "pillar" at the end of the season. The Lakers' need to upgrade to the center position in the offseason is well known, especially after being completely suppressed by their opponents in the playoffs. The Lakers have many ways to strengthen this position, but trading is an extremely likely option, and Raptors center Pertel is one of the potential targets.

Pelter has just passed the best season of his career and is the ideal center type for the Lakers: he is the top basket protector and rebounder, with excellent finishing ability and theoretically able to form an efficient pick-and-roll combination with Doncic.

Although it is unclear whether Pelter is tradeable, the big man is seeking a contract extension. If the Raptors fail to reach an agreement with them, the Lakers are likely to pursue him through a trade.

Peltel's salary for the 2025-26 season is $19.5 million, and he has the same amount of player options in the 2026-27 season. It is worth noting that Raptors general manager Ujri is known for his "extremely high asking price". Even if Pelter enters the trading market, the Lakers will have to pay a high price. Despite this, he is still an ideal candidate to immediately improve the Lakers' frontcourt strength.

Last season, Peartre averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of 62.7%. Although he lacks space projection ability, the Lakers may not need this, and his contribution in other aspects has been sufficiently compensated. Whether the target is Pelter or other available players, the Lakers management will surely go all out to bring in the big guys that the team is desperately needed.

In addition, Luoyang media reported that Pelinka only wants to trade Reeves for the 'cornerstone player'. In any trade negotiations, the Raptors and other teams may ask the Lakers for Reeves, but the Lakers are almost impossible to send him away. Recent reports pointed out that all key figures within the Lakers attach great importance to Reeves. Unless they can get a "cornerstone player" who can be the core of the team in the future, the possibility of him being traded is extremely low.