Matt Barnes didn’t tiptoe around the new-look Lakers. He looked at the reworked roster and came away with a blunt, tongue-in-cheek read on what Los Angeles has assembled.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Barnes joked, “I mean, this is probably the whitest Laker team in a while. But again, man, when you’ve got Luka and AR out there, to me, two of the best scoring guards in the league.
They’ve added some depth. So to me, I just got to see it.
Everyone wants to give a hot take and predict what they feel like they’re going to do. I really just have to see.”
He followed that with a bigger-picture view of where the franchise is headed: “This Laker team is Luka’s now, and they’re trying to build around him. But the Lakers, whether they’re up or down, if they’re down, they don’t stay down long. So it’s going to be interesting to see what the season looks like.”
The joke landed first, but the basketball point underneath it was the real takeaway. Barnes wasn’t ready to stamp the Lakers as contenders or write them off. He wants to see how the pieces fit before making a call.
Los Angeles has been busy reshaping the roster around Luka Doncic after LeBron James’ departure. Doncic is now the clear centerpiece, and Austin Reaves remains right beside him after signing a four-year, $185 million extension.
The front office also added Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, and Kevon Looney in an effort to cover multiple needs across the roster.
Barnes’ main point was that the biggest shift isn’t any one signing. It’s the fact that the Lakers are now fully built around Doncic.
That matters because LeBron spent eight seasons in Los Angeles and helped bring the franchise a title. With him gone, the Lakers no longer have to manage two different eras at once.
Now everything points toward Doncic’s game as the organizing force. The roster gives him more shooting, more creation, and a real interior option in Kessler. Doncic and Reaves provide the early offense, while Grimes, Sexton, and Mamukelashvili add more scoring and spacing.
There are still obvious questions hanging over the group, especially on defense, chemistry, and how all the roles will settle. Barnes didn’t pretend otherwise.
He just isn’t rushing to a verdict.
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The Lakers are trying to make the most of a summer of change, with several new additions on the roster as the franchise moves deeper into the Luka Doncic era after LeBron James departure. The early work has shifted to chemistry rather than big declarations, and the teams minicamp in Slovenia has offered a first look at how the pieces might fit once the season begins.
Sasa Doncic has taken a measured view of the overhaul, saying he is curious to see how the group comes together while expressing cautious optimism about the offseason work. The bigger question, though, is the one hovering over every new-look roster in Los Angeles: whether all this movement actually raises the team high enough to chase a title, or whether the Lakers are still waiting to find the right answer. [Read more 🡒]
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Sacramento has entered the picture as well, with a possible deal that would bring DeAndre Hunter into the mix. For now, though, Los Angeles is still trying to find the right solution for that spot before the new season arrives, and the fact that young players are already being floated tells you how serious the Lakers are about fixing one of their biggest holes. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Frontcourt Overhaul Could Give JJ Redick An Early Problem
The Lakers have spent the offseason reshaping their frontcourt, bringing in Walker Kessler from the Jazz in a deal that involved future draft picks and adding Sandro Mamukelashvili on a four-year contract. It is a clear signal that Los Angeles wants more size and more flexibility around the basket, with Kessler widely expected to open the year as the starting center.
For JJ Redick, the early question is how quickly those pieces fit together once the games start counting. Kessler and Mamukelashvili give the Lakers a new look up front, but the bigger issue may be whether they can share the floor in a way that works for the rest of the rotation, so the team will be watching their chemistry closely before settling on the best lineup mix. [Read more 🡒]