The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the busiest teams in the NBA over the 2026 offseason, but it remains to be seen if the front office’s roster changes around franchise star Luka Doncic will be the right moves.
The Lakers’ offseason was highlighted by losing LeBron James, re-signing Austin Reaves, and making a sign-and-trade for center Walker Kessler. Los Angeles also had a major revamp of its rotational players as they fully shifted to building around Doncic for the future.
However, by losing a ton of talent and overhauling more than half of the roster, many around the league do not see the Lakers as title contenders this upcoming season, and most recently, the franchise was dissed for being one of a few teams that ‘blew it’ this summer.
Los Angeles Handed Blunt Reality Check After Busy Summer
Writing for Bleacher Report, Dan Favale tabbed the Lakers as one of five teams that had an underwhelming offseason, and might not be poised to compete for a championship as much as some might believe.
“The process by which they reformatted the roster just to remain substantially worse than the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs is what kills them,” he wrote after placing Los Angeles third on his list.
“Giving four guaranteed years to Sandro Mamukelashvili and Quentin Grimes when guys like Mitchell Robinson (three guaranteed) and Norman Powell (one guaranteed) got less is bananas. Forking over player options to, well, everyone from Mamu and Grimes to Austin Reaves and Collin Sexton is absurd.”
The Lakers had several big free agents that were looking for a payday elsewhere or just a change of scenery, meaning the front office being forced to bring in new names isn’t surprising.
However, despite Rob Pelinka’s comments and insiders reporting the team was poised to make huge moves this summer, that never happened. They did re-sign Reaves and brought in Kessler on a new deal to create a strong trio next to Doncic, but even those moves aren’t automatically going to vault this team into title contention.
“The Lakers would have been better off reallocating the picks and money (they sent the Utah Jazz for Kessler) toward multiple players—one of whom, preferably, isn’t a minimum-contract wing,” Favale added. “Digesting the Kessler opportunity cost would be much easier if Los Angeles nailed all of its other moves. It didn’t.”
The Lakers were linked to making a big move like trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo at first, but ended up failing to even land free agent targets like Jonathan Kuminga.
While the team did undergo major change, questions remain of if this was the best the front office could do to give Doncic a title-contending roster around him.
All Of The Lakers Offseason Roster Changes
The highlights of the Lakers’ offseason changes were losing James, keeping Reaves, and bringing in Kessler.
However, those weren’t the only moves the franchise saw this summer, as they lost a ton of key players while seeing more than half the roster come in as new arrivals.
According to NBA.com, here are all the roster changes the Lakers underwent since the offseason began:
Re-signings: Austin Reaves (four-year deal)
Additions: Quentin Grimes (four-year deal), Jaden Hardy, Walker Kessler (four-year deal), Kevon Looney (one-year deal), Sandro Mamukelashvili (four-year deal), Collin Sexton (two-year deal), Matisse Thybulle (one-year deal), and Ziaire Williams (one-year deal)
Departures: Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, LeBron James, Luke Kennard, and Marcus Smart
But despite all the major changes, Doncic and the Lakers have said publicly that they feel comfortable about the roster heading into the 2026-27 NBA season.
While many pundits don’t feel that way, only time will tell if Los Angeles’ front office made the right moves this summer.
Lakers Dealt Gut-Punch After Offseason Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler Decisions