Some big moves were made before the Feb. 5 NBA Trade Deadline, but the Los Angeles Lakers opted against making a splash. The Lakers kept an eye on the future instead, and insider Dave McMenamin reports that Luka Doncic was on board with this approach.
“A source familiar with Doncic’s thinking told ESPN that L.A.’s deadline approach with ‘adherence to discipline’ and focus on the ‘long-term picture’ was supported by the 26-year-old star. He has not pushed the team to add a superstar-level co-star for when [LeBron] James is no longer on the roster.”
The Lakers were thought to be effectively punting on this season by not making a significant win-now move. They desperately needed to upgrade the roster defensively, but only acquired Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick. Kennard addresses their shooting woes, but provides nothing on the defensive end.
The Lakers’ chances of winning it all this season were slim before the deadline and are slim now as well. General manager Rob Pelinka was criticized for wasting a year of Doncic’s prime, but the Slovenian doesn’t seem to have taken issue with this line of thinking.
Pelinka’s choosing not to make a big move did two things for the Lakers. First of all, it meant they will have three first-round picks (2026, 2031, and 2033) they can trade in the summer. Doncic isn’t pushing them to get another superstar, but they can look to bring someone like Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo in by putting those picks on the table.
Secondly, the Lakers did not add significant salary beyond this season. Kennard is just on a one-year deal and will be off their books after this season. So, the Lakers will have cap space to go after an elite defender like Peyton Watson, who will be a restricted free agent in the summer.
Provided Pelinka uses those draft picks to strengthen the roster via a trade or brings in some quality free agent, his approach at the trade deadline would be justified. He did explain his line of thinking during a press conference on Feb. 7.
“I would say we were aggressive,” Pelinka said. “And one form of being aggressive is saying no to moves that come your way that might not be best for the short- and long-term future. That’s being aggressive, even though you end up doing nothing because it’s hard to say no sometimes to getting a good player that could be a quick short-term fix, but could have complications for the long-term, where it doesn’t fit the vision for the team.
“So, we were very aggressive, and we worked incredibly hard,” Pelinka added. “We evaluated numerous things. We had multiple conversations, got close on some things, but ended up making the move we made, and we feel good about it.”
That is all well and good. If this Lakers roster doesn’t look a lot better at the start of next season, though, then Pelinka might be in trouble. He has to ensure he gets in the pieces that are ideal fits next to Doncic, who is averaging 32.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. If Pelinka fails, he might find himself on the way out.
