The NBA offseason is already in full swing after Sunday's blockbuster trade involving the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic, and now Los Angeles Lakers fans are receiving some news regarding their team's plans for the summer.
The Lakers' need to address the frontcourt has been discussed far and wide throughout the basketball world following their opening-round exit from the 2025 NBA playoffs. While those needs, especially in the starting lineup, remain, it appears as though we're seeing some clarity concerning the team's plans regarding its reserve big men.
Much to the chagrin of fans in Los Angeles, two members of last year's roster are reportedly expected to return to the franchise for the 2025-26 campaign.
Lakers Reportedly Bringing Back Koloko, Jemison Next Season
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Lakers fans can expect Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III to be back with the franchise this coming season as the front office continues to look for ways to add a veteran difference-maker on the interior to play alongside LeBron James and Luka Doncic in the starting lineup.
With Jemison already on a two-way contract for this coming season, Buha believes the big man will be part of the bench rotation of bigs. Koloko's case is a bit different, as he is a restricted free agent this summer. Barring more lucrative offers coming in from other teams, Buha suggests that retaining Koloko on another two-way contract is a real possibility.
As is the case for most two-way players, Jemison III and Koloko saw plenty of playing time at the NBA level this past season, but neither was relied upon heavily. In 22 appearances last season, Jemison III averaged 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game. Koloko, on the other hand, saw time in 37 games for Los Angeles this past season and averaged 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game.
These aren't the type of big-name acquisitions that fans expect out of the Lakers this summer in one form or another. Rob Pelinka's job is to build a complete roster, though, not just a starting lineup. These depth pieces were going to have to be addressed in one way or another, and the brain trust in Los Angeles has seen enough out of these two to reportedly have legitimate interest in keeping both in the fold moving forward.