The Lakers should target the best restricted free agents – including the Nuggets’ Peyton Watson
When building a roster, restricted free agency can be a tricky tool.
Restricted free agency often features talented young players who can be difference makers.
But this has become a rare route for players to switch teams.
Teams are less inclined to issue an offer sheet because the player’s original team has 48 hours to match it, which includes the offering team’s cap space and freezes their free agency plans for up to two days.
The last time a restricted free agent signed an offer sheet was Paul Reed in 2023, with his original team (76ers) matching the Jazz’s deal to re-sign the big man.
When a player gets to the point of signing an offer sheet, the team in charge is usually the same
It’s been almost six years since a player changed teams in free agency, when Bogdan Bogdanovic signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Hawks that the Kings decided not to match.
A restricted free agent may switch teams via sign-and-trade rather than an offer sheet: Grant Williams from the Celtics to the Mavericks in a three-team deal that involved the Spurs in 2023; Collin Sexton from the Cavaliers to the Jazz as part of the deal that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland in 2022; Devonte’ Graham (Hornets to Pelicans) and Lonzo Ball (Pelicans to Hornets) in 2021.
This route allows the existing team to get something in return for the departing player, allows the new team to avoid adding to their cap space while waiting for the participating team’s decision on the offer sheet and does not leave the player in the conference.
While restricted free agency remains a challenging way to add players, it’s not impossible, although players like Walker Kessler of the Jazz and Jalen Duren of the Pistons may be out of reach.
Here are a few free agents the Lakers should be looking at:
Peyton Watson, Nuggets, wing
2025-26 stats: 14.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.1 BPG, 29.6 MPG
Watson has gone from one of the league’s best 3-and-D wings to a player who has shown the ability to do so much more.
He contributed to the Nuggets’ success during 2025-26, especially in January when they went 10-6 while three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic was sidelined.
Watson averaged 22.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals in 15 games during that stretch as part of his first season in his fourth year in the league out of UCLA.
As a 6-foot-8 wing with a 7-foot wingspan who has expanded his offensive game, in addition to being flexible and solid defensively, he fits the archetype of the type of player any team wants.
Including the Lakers.
And the Nuggets, who are likely to enter the luxury tax, and perhaps a second round, to keep Watson unless they shell out significant salary elsewhere.
Ousmane Dieng, Bucks, wing
2025-26 stats: 7.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, 19.3 MPG
Dieng, the 11th overall pick in 2022, struggled to find his place in the Thunder’s rotation during his 3 ½ seasons in Oklahoma City before being traded multiple times in February, ending up with the Bucks.
He got the most consistent playing time of his young career with Milwaukee, averaging 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 26.8 minutes in 30 games (20 starts).
Outside of his time with Milwaukee, Dieng didn’t have many opportunities to display the tools that made him such a promising prospect: the smooth ball handling that creates space for pull-up jumpers, the quickness and length that could make him an impact defender and natural playmaker.
He remains a developing player after playing in 166 regular season games over four seasons.
Ochai Agbaji, Nets, wing
2025-26 stats: 5.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 15.7 MPG
Agbaji, who proved to be an excellent player on the ball and a solid defender off the ball, followed his best 3-point shooting season in 2024-25 (39.9%) and his worst in 2025-26 (26.6%).
He has already been on three teams in four seasons since the Jazz selected him with the No. 14 pick in the 2022 draft.
Agbaji’s value as a player will come down to whether he can keep up with his outside shot.
