The Los Angeles Lakers have seen a strong 6-2 start to the season, led by franchise superstar Luka Doncic making arguably the best case of his career to win the MVP award. However, questions across the roster remain, and there is still a big chance the Lakers make a trade over the next few months to significantly upgrade the talent available for head coach JJ Redick.
The team has reportedly been in the market for a new backup center, as outside of Walker Kessler, the Lakers don’t have another true big man on the roster to play when he sits.
Los Angeles is also interested in adding another starting forward, an upgrade from the other wings they are currently using.
While making a move soon could be key to the franchise making a title push amid the major injuries around the Western Conference, it would also prove to Doncic that the front office is committed to giving him a shot at winning his first NBA championship and ensuring he doesn’t leave when his contract runs out.
Lakers Trade Plans Revealed Ahead Of Deadline
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast after the team’s win over the Miami Heat, insider Jovan Buha discussed the potential of a Lakers trade to upgrade the roster.
“If the Lakers don’t make a move and don’t try to improve this roster, it would be, to quote you, malpractice,” he said on Buha’s Block about the Lakers making a move amid Doncic’s MVP-level start. “I just think that would be a giant mistake having Luka in his prime, potentially the best season of his career, and to not improve a couple of holes in the roster.”
The Lakers have gotten off to a hot start, and while most of the role players are putting in some strong performances, Buha believes a trade is likely to capitalize on the now wide-open Western Conference.
“If this is the best opportunity or potentially the best opportunity, you have to go for it,” he added. “Odds of making a trade, I would say like 65% right now.”
The insider also clarified that a Lakers trade might not come in the next few weeks, but as the rotation develops, the team will understand what and who it needs. Perhaps making a move closer to the February trade deadline is more likely instead of taking a risk so early in the season.
“If someone goes down, maybe there’s a different need, or there’s some urgency to do something, or if they just continue to struggle to navigate some of these bench groups, maybe they feel some urgency to get a center at some point in December,” Buha said. “I’m not saying they [trades] will happen. But if they do happen, I would suspect that final week or so of December and on.”
Los Angeles Needs To Capitalize On MVP-Level Luka Doncic
Along with mentioning the Lakers could make a trade to capitalize on Doncic’s historic season start, the team also needs to show it is committed to doing everything possible to give him a roster worthy of title contention.
So far this season, Doncic is averaging 38.3 points, 8.1 assists, eight rebounds, and 1.9 steals on 49.7% shooting through seven games so far. His scoring would be the fourth-highest in NBA history if he keeps it up all year, and just two weeks into the season, he’s broken numerous records, both franchise and league-wide.
But if the Lakers don’t do everything they can to give Doncic a star-studded roster, which it could be argued the front office failed to do this summer after the high expectations on some big moves, there is a real chance the Slovenian could take his talents somewhere else with a better shot at winning a championship.
As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said before the season, the franchise is aware of the risk that Doncic could leave when his contract expires in 2028 or 2029, depending on what he does with his player option.
“This is extension zone, and I’m gonna tell you, the Lakers organization is very cognizant that they need to be in a good place with Luka at the end of the season so they can get him extended,” he said. “The organization is aware, which is one of the reasons why they felt, I think, the need to make sure they went out and got him a center.”
For now, everything seems to be going well in Laker Land with Doncic. However, as seen so many times in NBA history, that could change at any moment. As long as the team is winning, that’s good news, but as Buha said, there’s clearly a need to make a trade, and if the front office doesn’t capitalize on Doncic’s MVP-level start, things could get messy down the road.
Lakers Expected To Make Trade Amid Luka Doncic ‘Malpractice’: Report