The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into another uncertain stretch, and the biggest question hanging over the franchise is whether the overhaul that began under Mark Walter will keep rolling after his agreement to sell the team to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.
Over the past 14 months, Walter pushed through major changes in both the front office and the roster, all while steering the Lakers toward a model inspired by the Dodgers. According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, that “Dodgerizing” process was an extensive one. It wasn’t a quick tweak - it was a full-scale shift in how the organization operates.
That approach makes sense on paper. Walter has spent years as the Dodgers’ majority owner, starting in 2012, and that blueprint has produced a perennial World Series contender down the road, with three titles already and the possibility of a fourth on the way to complete the three-peat. The question now is whether the new ownership group wants to keep following that same path with the Lakers.
For now, that appears to be the plan. And after so many changes already made, continuing in that direction may be the safest move.
A new ownership group that has invested $12.5 billion is naturally going to want its own imprint on the franchise. But ripping up everything that was just put in place would create the kind of instability that can quickly spiral into chaos.
That matters because the Lakers are building around Luka Doncic, and his timeline is not open-ended. He is under contract for two more seasons, and then he can control his own future with a $57.7 million player option for the 2028-29 campaign.
If Doncic isn’t convinced by the direction the franchise takes after being sold on Walter’s vision before signing his extension, the Lakers could be staring at a dangerous future in which he reaches NBA free agency and walks away.
So while the sale changes the power structure at the top, the next moves still matter just as much. Every decision the Lakers make from the rest of the summer through the upcoming season will shape the franchise’s direction - and its ability to keep Doncic as the face of it for years to come.
In Other News...
Lakers Still Have One Big Center Problem After Walker Kessler Trade
The Lakers made a major swing for Walker Kessler, sending multiple future first-round picks to Utah in a move that should give them a young, defensive anchor in the middle. They also sent Deandre Ayton to Washington and brought in veteran Kevon Looney on a one-year deal, reshaping the center rotation in a hurry and signaling that the front office wanted a different look after the trade.
Even with those changes, the depth chart still has a familiar soft spot. Los Angeles has not added another true backup center, and the lack of attractive trade pieces makes upgrading that spot harder than it sounds. Looney is the name most likely to fill the role for now, but the Lakers are still carrying a real question behind Kessler, and it is the kind of roster issue that can linger long after the headline move fades. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Roster Crunch Could Force A Tough Move For Frontcourt Help
The Lakers are running into the kind of roster squeeze that can turn even routine frontcourt shopping into a complicated balancing act. With one player over the limit, the front office has to clear space before making any meaningful move, and that means decisions around names like Dalton Knecht, Jaden Hardy or Bronny James could come into play as the team tries to sort out its depth chart.
What makes it more interesting is the fit the Lakers are chasing. Backup center remains a clear need, and the team has already looked at a few different options as it tries to bolster the middle without losing flexibility elsewhere. One scenario on the table would fold that search into a larger three-team arrangement, giving Los Angeles a path to address both the roster crunch and its frontcourt depth in one shot, but the details still have to line up before anything becomes official. [Read more 🡒]