The Lakers spent the offseason making one thing clear: this is Luka Doncic’s team now.
After entering the summer with plenty of cap space, Los Angeles finally had the flexibility to build around Doncic in a real way. The promise was simple - upgrade the roster meaningfully - and the Lakers have done that, even if the group still has some obvious holes.
The biggest swing came with the addition of Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz. Kessler missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, but he has already established himself as one of the league’s better rebounders and rim protectors. For a Lakers team that needed help in both of those areas, that’s a major pickup.
Los Angeles also kept Austin Reaves, then added more shot creation and backcourt depth by signing Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton. On the wing, the Lakers brought in Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle on lower-cost deals, while Sandro Mamukelashvili and Kevon Looney joined the frontcourt mix. They also used the draft on Cameron Carr, a player with real upside who could carve out a rotation role right away and grow into a starter later on.
The shape of the roster says plenty about where the Lakers want to go. With Doncic and Reaves as the headliners, this group is built to score.
There’s more shooting, more creation, and more depth around the stars than there was at the end of last season. Doncic and Reaves already showed strong chemistry together, and Grimes and Sexton give the bench more punch.
Defensively, though, the picture is less complete. Thybulle, Williams, and Kessler help, but the Lakers still need more on that end, especially with Doncic and Reaves not being strong defenders.
Even so, the offense should be electric. Carr, in particular, could fit nicely in an off-ball role that lets him shoot and cut for easy finishes. The Lakers did miss on retaining Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart, both of whom signed cheap contracts in free agency, and those departures leave some value on the table.
Still, this is a deeper team than the one that finished last season. It isn’t perfect, but Los Angeles used its space well, and with Doncic and Reaves driving the attack, the Lakers should have one of the best offenses in the West.
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For a franchise that is always balancing present pressure with future flexibility, that matters. Bronnys name will keep coming up in any conversation tied to LeBrons future, but the Lakers stance suggests they would need a meaningful offer before even entertaining the idea of moving him, and they appear to see his value as more than just the family connection that brought so much attention in the first place. [Read more 🡒]