As the Los Angeles Lakers navigate through their first offseason with Luka Doncic on board, they will have a lot of important roster decisions to make, and some exciting free agents may be available on the market. With that being said, there is one decision LA can make right away that might be the easiest choice of their offseason: To pick up Jordan Goodwin’s $2.3 million team option for next season.
Honestly, this should be a total no-brainer move for those that watched a lot of Goodwin this past season. Considering the Lakers’ current roster needs and their desire to find cost-effective options, Goodwin is an easy choice to bring back on board after his performance in 2024-25.
We have to remember that although Doncic and LeBron James remain on this roster and that is what will make Los Angeles a contender, it’s often the margin moves that determine what a team’s ceiling will truly be. And over the course of this past season, Goodwin proved that he can be the kind of difference-maker the Lakers need coming off their bench.
During the 2024-25 campaign, Jordan Goodwin stood out with his grit and hustle, which often showed up in his rebounding and defensive efforts. He showed that he can help sure up LA’s bench on the defensive side of things.
Sure, he’s not going to be a 30 minutes per night kind of guy. But frankly, the Lakers don’t need many more of those kinds of players right now. A 1,000 mile journey begins with a single step, right? That’s the mentality Los Angeles should be adopting when building a championship-level roster, and Goodwin is the kind of no-nonsense asset that every contending team should want to have.
With just a $2.3 million price tag, picking up Goodwin’s option would give the Lakers a fantastic return on investment. Rob Pelinka and the front office already have very little room for error when it comes to roster construction given their financial situation and salary cap restrictions. Low-cost contributors like Goodwin are going to be essential.
If you need any further proof that the Lakers’ bench is in desperate need of an upgrade from last season, just look at the team’s Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one of the playoffs. JJ Redick didn’t play a single guy off the bench for the entire second half.
A player like Jordan Goodwin is going to come in and make his presence felt every night off the bench. There are going to be some hard decisions the Lakers’ front office will have to make this summer, but bringing back number 30 should be one of the easiest.
