Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic
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Would the Lakers ever consider trading Luka Doncic or is this conversation already too far?
Max Kellerman’s new podcast Game Over, launched with co-host Rich Paul under The Ringer banner, has quickly shifted from debate into destabilization. Early episodes suggest the show cares less about analyzing the Los Angeles Lakers and more about pulling them apart.
That tension spiked earlier this week when Paul publicly suggested the Lakers trade Austin Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jaren Jackson Jr.. The proposal drew immediate attention. Not because it was impossible, but because Paul represents LeBron James.
Reports later showed the Lakers did not appreciate the idea being floated publicly. LeBron also distanced himself from both the proposal and the podcast discussion. That reaction should have cooled the conversation.
Instead, Kellerman escalated it.
Kellerman’s Counter: Trade Luka Instead
If the Lakers don’t want to trade Reaves, Kellerman argued, they should consider something far more drastic. Trade Luka Doncic.
“If I were the Lakers, I would give serious consideration to moving Luka,” Kellerman said. “If you want to win a championship, I believe that your best player needs to be someone who is willing to at least play team defense… If your best player isn’t that, very hard to win a championship.
There’s a world in which if you’re really trying to win a championship and you’re the Lakers, Luka and Austin are redundant, I can get X for Austin, I can get 3X for Luka.”
Kellerman later expanded on that point. He framed Doncic as an offensive superstar whose defensive limitations cap the Lakers’ ceiling.
“Luka is a better player than Austin Reaves, I understand that. Luka’s a fantastic player, offensively,” Kellerman said. “But if you want to win a championship, I believe that your best player needs to be someone who is willing to at least play team defense, like Steph [Stephen] Curry. Steph’s a bad defender, but he is a willing defender.
If your best player isn’t that, very hard to win a championship.”
Why the Argument Collapses
Only two people appear to believe the Lakers should trade Luka Doncic: Max Kellerman and Nico Harrison.
Last February, the Dallas Mavericks traded Doncic to Los Angeles. Fans and media relentlessly criticized Harrison for the move. It quickly became a cautionary tale.
If Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka moved Doncic after less than a full season, the backlash would be immediate. Pelinka already carries a shaky reputation among fans and executives.
Nearly a year has passed since Doncic arrived in Los Angeles. His individual production remains elite. The team’s results have not matched it. The Lakers opened the season looking like contenders. Defensive lapses and chemistry issues soon followed.
Those frustrations grew loud enough that even LeBron’s agent felt compelled to comment on the roster’s direction.
Frustration, however, does not justify self-sabotage.
If the best argument for trading a superstar is return value, no franchise would ever keep its best player. Championship teams do not trade top-five talents because of redundancy concerns. They organize around them.
The Lakers acquired Doncic to raise their championship ceiling. Trading him over “willing” defense would not be bold. It would confirm that the plan collapsed before it had time to mature.