The Los Angeles Lakers were the third seed in the Western Conference last season after going 50-32. They faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs and were favored to win since they had Luka Doncic, LeBron James and home-court advantage.
However, the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves in five games, losing Games 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the best-of-seven-series. Head coach J.J. Redick played Doncic, James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith for the entire second half of Game 4 and benched Jaxson Hayes for Game 5.
The Lakers’ lack of a big man was exposed by the Timberwolves, who had Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Julius Randle. All three players played well against Los Angeles and everyone in NBA circles knew that Rob Pelinka had to acquire a center this offseason.
Pelinka got lucky, as the Portland Trail Blazers and Deandre Ayton agreed to a buyout. Doncic recruited Ayton to the Lakers, who signed the former Phoenix Suns star to a two-year, $16.2 million deal.
Los Angeles also landed Marcus Smart, who was also recruited by Doncic, after the former Defensive Player of the Year was bought out by the Washington Wizards.
The Lakers lost Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets on the first day of free agency, but they replaced the veteran with Jake LaRavia, who was recruited to the purple and gold by Reaves.
Pelinka and Los Angeles are likely done making moves this offseason, and one NBA executive told Lakers Daily that he believes the team “got better” and could reach the Western Conference Finals next season.
“They were the third seed last year and did that without a starting-level center,” the NBA exec said. “They definitely got better by adding Ayton and Smart. I can see them making the conference finals. You can never count out LeBron. I don’t care how old he is. He’s still amazing offensively. And everyone keeps talking about how great Luka looks after his weight loss. He’s probably hungry to win it all next season.”
A league source told Lakers Daily that Redick is expected to start Doncic, Reaves, Hachimura, James and Ayton next season and have Smart, LaRavia, Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent run the second unit.
It will be intriguing to see how the Lakers fare next season in the rugged Western Conference. Doncic and James are two of the best players in the NBA, and Los Angeles addressed its center spot with the addition of Ayton.