The Lakers spent the offseason reshaping the roster around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, but not everyone around the league is buying the defensive ceiling.
An anonymous Lakers executive told Keith Smith that the team’s offense is easy to like, then tossed out a bar for JJ Redick that sounds more like a dare than a prediction.
“Well, there’s certainly a lot of offense… Defensively… well, they’ll score a lot of points! If JJ can get this group in the top-20 on defense, give him Coach of the Year.”
That kind of line lands because it cuts right to the tension in this Lakers build. The scoring options are obvious.
Doncic and Reaves are elite creators, Quentin Grimes brings shooting and two-way value, and Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton add more offense off the bench. Walker Kessler can also fit nicely as a screen-setter and lob threat alongside Luka.
The issue is what happens when the other team has the ball.
Kessler is the biggest offseason addition and gives Los Angeles something it badly needed: a real defensive anchor and shot blocker. He averaged 1.8 blocks in just five games last season before surgery to repair a torn labrum.
But one rim protector won’t fix everything by himself. Doncic has never been known as even an average defender, Reaves has clear limitations on that end, and Mamukelashvili could wind up starting at power forward despite defense being one of his weaker traits. That could push Redick toward Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams when the Lakers need more resistance on the perimeter.
Those defensive questions are a big reason ESPN has picked the Lakers to be the most disappointing team in the 2026-27 season.
Lakers insider Jovan Buha has also pointed to health as the biggest concern. “My biggest worry is health.Looking at Luka, Austin, and Walker Kessler, that has not been the most durable trio over the past two or three years.
So that would be my biggest concern. Just can the Lakers get ideally 70-ish games out of each of those three guys?
65-plus games out of each of those three guys. “If so, I think they should be in the mix for home-court, 50-plus wins,” Buha added.
“So, health is the biggest thing.”
Buha also noted the challenge of balancing a win-now roster with giving young players like Adou Theiro, Bronny James, and Cameron Carr a chance, while also keeping the group focused on the present and making sure Luka signs his extension next summer.
Even so, the idea that finishing 20th on defense would somehow be a major coaching achievement feels like a stretch.
The Lakers already finished 20th in defensive rating last season at 115.5, despite plenty of problems on that end. They were 11th in the league in points allowed per game at 114.6, and they also showed that Redick could get more out of the group over a meaningful stretch.
After the All-Star break, Los Angeles ranked eighth in defensive efficiency. That’s the part that matters most here: Redick has already guided this team into top-10 defensive territory for a significant portion of a season.
Doing that for 82 games is a different matter, especially with so many new pieces to blend together. Still, the Lakers should be aiming higher than simply matching last year’s 20th-place finish.
If Doncic and Reaves drive an elite offense, Los Angeles doesn’t need a shutdown defense to matter. Even a league-average unit could put this team in position for a strong regular season.
The real test comes in the playoffs, where opponents will hunt every soft spot.
Redick has a real job on his hands, but Kessler gives the Lakers a foundation. If he can build even an average or above-average defense around it, and the offense looks like it should, this team could wind up a lot better than that anonymous executive’s joke.
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