The Los Angeles Lakers are Luka Doncic's team. That's been obvious ever since they fleeced him away from the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the 2025 NBA trade deadline. Yet, they don't really look like a Luka-driven team.
As ESPN's Tim MacMahon relayed on The Hoop Collective podcast, "You have to surround Luka with length, athleticism, and some shooting, and they don't have it." All three areas (and all manners of defense) should be obvious focuses for whenever L.A. reworks this roster—which could happen as soon as this trade deadline, but probably won't—but this blueprint isn't some novel idea.
Doncic has always worked best with that kind of supporting cast around him, so when are the Lakers going to give him that? Because his window to win is wide open, so L.A. must operate with enough urgency to reflect that.
The Lakers have yet to position Luka Doncic for success.
The overlap between what Doncic needs and what L.A. has provided is nearly nonexistent. It's not that the Lakers lack talent, they just don't have the type that would perfectly complement his game.
Meanwhile, if you lined up his strengths and weaknesses with those of the team, you might have two circles sitting right on top of one another. Now, that's partly because his arrival was so sudden and secretive that this roster was never tailored to his game. On the other hand, he's had a Hollywood home for nearly a full calendar year now, so it's reasonable to believe that reshaping should be further along by now.
On offense, his ball-dominance and preternatural playmaking allow him to thrive alongside play-finishers who don't need a ton of touches—think catch-and-shoot marksmen or bouncy lob threats. Both boxes are basically unchecked. This is one of the league's worst shooting teams (23rd in threes, 24th in three-point percentage), and the only rim-runner on the roster is backup big man Jaxson Hayes, who seldom sees even 20 minutes of action.
On defense, Doncic's—how can I put this politely—generosity requires a slew of lanky, athletic disruptors around him. Does that label fit any current Laker other than Jarred Vanderbilt and rookie Adou Thiero? Nope. And that's kinda a massive deal, since both are such limited offensive players that it restricts their floor time.
Doncic's best teammates, meanwhile, are Austin Reaves and LeBron James, both perimeter creators who are most comfortable (and arguably most valuable) with the ball in their hands. The logistical issues sort of speak for themselves here. With Doncic handling the league's heaviest usage rate, there aren't enough touches to spare for his top sidekicks to play to their strengths.
And that probably explains why this seemingly uber-talented trio has fit together as well as the proverbial square peg getting jammed in the round hole. Statistically speaking, that group has produced a disastrous minus-9.8 net rating across 140 minutes together this season, per NBA.com.
If the Lakers want Luka to be their problem-solver, they have to at least provide pieces from the same puzzle. The entire basketball world understands how a roster should be assembled around Doncic. At some point, hopefully a lot sooner than later, the Lakers will have to start following this obvious blueprint.