The Lakeshow Review

After an eventful offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers seemingly have their roster set to enter the 2025-26 season. It started out with a bit of uncertainty, but the Lakers and GM Rob Pelinka managed to do a nice job to make some key acquisitions that will plug in several holes. The team started their summer spree with the acquisition of young forward Jake LaRavia, after he inked a 2-year/$12M contract with LA. LaRavia gives the team an infusion of youth and potential, as this is definitely a signing that can pay dividends for the team in the coming seasons. LaRavia can score and defend at a reasonably high level, checking two boxes when it comes to team needs. LA continued its offseason spree by landing center Deandre Ayton, who was recently coming off a buyout with the Portland Trailblazers. Ayton agreed to a 2-year/$16.6M contract, and all things considered, was probably the best realistic option for the Lakers to fill their void at the 5. They then went on to get former Defensive Player of the Year guard Marcus Smart, after he signed a 2-year/$11M deal either the team. Smart brings forth a defensive presence and a formidable force on the perimeter, which the Lakers certainly lacked last season. Additionally, the LA brought back big man Jaxson Hayes (on a 1-year/$3.5M contract), who will provide some much needed depth at the front court. The Lakers were also busy at draft night, after selecting Arkansas Razorbacks forward Adou Thiero with the 36th overall pick. Christian Koloko and Chris Mañon have also been brought in as two-way contracts, giving the Lakers some solid young clay to mold for the future, provided that they are committed to further investing in their player development programs. It’s been a fruitful summer for the team and they certainly look like a more complete roster than what they had to work with last season. 

Of course, the signing of Luka Dončić was absolutely monumental. The Lakers now have a legitimate franchise player to build around for the next years, validating everything else they’ve done so far this summer. Next summer, in 2026, they’ll have even more cap room to add pieces around Luka and the rest off the core. Having a bonafide superstar committed to the franchise certainly gives them somewhat of a security blanket, as they’ve now checked off the difficult part; that being finding and signing said superstar to begin with.

One of the main strengths for the Lakers is they are top heavy. They certainly don’t lack the star power. They’re led by Luka Dončić and LeBron James, arguably the best pure scorer in Luka and two of the very best playmakers in basketball. Of course, those two are flanked by Austin Reaves, who depending on who you ask, is a budding star in the NBA, and a hell of a competent playmaker himself. The combined playmaking on the team is perhaps one of the best in the NBA. Not to mention, newcomer Marcus Smart also has some ball handling chops and has experience running plays as an initiator. I don’t think that the team should have any issues scoring the ball. Additionally, the Lakers have a nice variety of players that can score the basketball. Luka, LeBron, AR, Ayton and Rui Hachimura are all capable of scoring in double figures on any given night. Scoring will definitely be a strength for this team, as they don’t lack the scorers or the playmakers to consistently keep the offense in high gear. Depending on how Head Coach JJ Redick structures his rotations, the Lakers can also boast a good bench; one which shouldn’t have significant offensive challenges. If they bring either Rui or AR as a sixth man, the team will feature a legit scorer off the bench to complement other capable defenders such as Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt. Redick’s lineups and rotations will be key to defining the balance of the roster. The Lakers can be a deep team if they so choose to. 

On the flip side, the Lakers as currently constructed are a very talented albeit flawed unit. For one, the team lacks a steady assortment of above average athletes on the roster. The best athlete on the starting group is likely LeBron James, who will be entering his 23rd season at age 41. The Lakers feature formidable offensive threats such as Luka and AR, but you wouldn’t exactly call any of them elite athletes. Those two win via their skill and instincts, which is terrific. But one would be remiss to evaluate this roster and overlook the lack of pure athletes. Will it hurt them? I think it will, at times. But I also think that the Lakers have enough on the talent and leadership departments to win consistently. Which leads us into another area that this roster is thin on; that being perimeter defense. Dorian Finney-Smith’s departure can definitely give the Lakers issues, just as Marcus Smart’s arrival will certainly lend a capable hand in this department. But on the aggregate, the Lakers simply don’t have a healthy stable of above average defenders, particularly in comparison to some of the other elite teams in the Western Conference, such as the defending champs OKC. The Lakers can potentially put together a nice combination of defensive stoppers. But that’s relying on several outside factors to swing their way; firstly Jarred Vanderbilt has to get back to his late 2023 form, where he was an elite team defender and disruptor. For that he needs to stay healthy. Furthermore, Marcus Smart needs to recapture his former DPOY level, and stay healthy himself. Then guys like Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton need to hit another gear defensively. None of them are known as perennial stoppers on that end, so it does raise some questions. Yes, I’d say perimeter defense is by far the team’s biggest question mark, and its best case scenario is dependant on numerous variables. But given their personnel, I think the Lakers can get by if the coaching staff can find a way to maximize the team’s rotations. The key will be injecting the starting unit with as many capable defenders as possible while still preserving a healthy dose of scoring, and if that means sending Rui or Austin to the bench so be it. It’s imperative for the starters to be able to defend at a high level, or at least at a competent one. Finally, the aforementioned bench unit can, in my opinion, swing both ways for LA. It could be a source of weakness, or strength. If the starting unit is too top heavy on offense, then look for the bench to be thin. But if there’s a balance established between scorers and defenders within the starters and bench group, then the bench can be a source of strength. For instance, a bench mob of Jaxson Hayes, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia and one of Rui Hachimura or Austin Reaves, I think is potentially a well stocked bench unit. Furthermore it ensures that the starters are well-equipped to both score and defend at a reasonable level. As I stated previously, the effectiveness of the team’s depth will come down to how JJ Redick balances the team’s rotations.

On the bright side, the Lakers have maintained a ton of roster flexibility moving forward. They will have most of their first round picks available to trade until 2031, with the exception of 2027 and 2029. They will also have a bevy of expiring contracts to work with, including Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber, Jaxson Hayes, with the big one of course being LeBron James. The team has positioned itself to have significant cap room during the summer of 2026, where they can potentially re-sign Austin Reaves via his cap hold, after going hunting for big names with the sizeable $50+M cap room that they’ll have at their disposal. This also means that the Lakers will have every opportunity to make a mid-season trade this upcoming season, if they feel the need to plug in a hole. They have the expiring salary plus the draft compensation to make such a trade possible. It all comes down to value vs. risk assessment, and if the team feels like foregoing 2026 summer flexibility in favor of a mid-season acquisition is worth the tradeoff. Either way, the organization has positioned itself in a fashion that affords them options and doesn’t tie them up to a specific timeline. Rob Pelinka, despite not constructing a picture perfect roster, has done an outstanding job of filling out the team via quality acquisitions with the cap room and resources that were available to him. Deandre Ayton is a terrific option at center, considering what was available. He can score and rebound effectively, and is deadly in ball screen situations as a screener and roller, which is exactly the type of piece that Luka needs in order to operate the offense. A player like Jake LaRavia also brings some much needed youth as well as a scoring punch that the team lacked last year. Marcus Smart brings the type of defensive acumen and toughness that’s needed to be a championship team. All these pieces were brought in with just the limited cap space that the team had at its disposal. It’s a very respectable haul, all things considered. Particularly after LeBron James opted in to his player option, and left very little room on the cap sheet. DFS opting out also presented an opportunity, one that Pelinka and the Lakers capitalized on. Once he signed with Houston, it opened up the entire non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which the Lakers split on both Ayton and LaRavia. Essentially turning DFS into two players. While I do think that the loss of DFS isn’t ideal, I do give the team credit for pivoting to a solid plan B. All in all, I like the outlook of the team. I think they’re a better team than last season. Their ability to add pieces without surrendering assets gives them some much needed cap flexibility moving forward, therefore, we can still look at this team as an unfinished product. Even though it already is a good one. 

Realistically, what can we expect from this Lakers team? Well, I think that from a big picture standpoint they’re in a better spot than they were last season. You also have the added security of having locked up a player the likes of Luka Dončić. Last season, the Lakers finished as the 3rd seed in a competitive Western Conference. I strongly believe the Lakers should be a top 4 seed next season. Anything below a top 5 seed would in my opinion be a disappointment. We also have to account for other teams in the conference like the Rockets and Nuggets improving. With that said, I think the Lakers have improved as well, so I expect them to be in the mix of teams behind OKC, who are the cream of the crop in the Western Conference. Finally, if the team feels like it’s a move away at the deadline, they have positioned themselves to have the flexibility and ammunition to pursue such a scenario. This would further close the gap between them and teams sitting in front in the standings. I expect the Lakers to improve upon last season’s early playoff exit, and they have the talent and the coaching to make that happen. Some things will need to break their way, namely health. But if they can stay healthy, they are definitely a top team in the West, with plenty of flexibility for improvement. Go Lakers.