The Los Angeles Lakers finally belong to Luka Doncic. That sounds obvious, but this offseason made it official.
LeBron James is gone, and so are Rui Hachimura and the exiled Deandre Ayton. The Lakers have essentially taken the roster that surrounded Doncic, ripped it apart, and rebuilt it around their 27-year-old superstar.
There is plenty to like after a very active offseason.
Walker Kessler is finally the defensive anchor the Lakers have needed since Anthony Davis. Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes provide shooting, and Sandro Mamukelashvili adds frontcourt spacing. Finally, Doncic gets a roster designed around his strengths instead of sharing the team with LeBron James.
But the Lakers have weaknesses that cannot be ignored. While expectations in L.A. are high, there are five major concerns facing the Lakers entering 2026-27.
1. The Lakers Could Have A Serious Perimeter Defense Problem
This might be the biggest issue of them all. The Lakers can survive Luka Doncic being hunted defensively if the rest of the roster is constructed to erase the problems.
Doncic is coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which he averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting roughly 47.6% from the field and 36.6% from three.
He carries a heavy load and must be covered on defense to maximize his talents. Luckily for Lakers fans, Luka is also healthy and ready to go next season.
The Lakers need him conserving energy for the fourth quarter, where he can destroy defenses with the ball in his hands. That puts considerable pressure on Austin Reaves, Sexton, Grimes and the rest of the perimeter rotation.
Now imagine a playoff opponent attacking the Lakers with a succession of ball screens. Doncic (113.6 Def Rtg), Reaves (117.7 Def Rtg), Sexton (117.1 Def Rtg), and even Grimes (118.2 Def Rtg) are not stoppers. That’s where the problem becomes larger than one player’s defensive shortcomings.
The Lakers have a defensive anchor behind them in Kessler (10.8 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 1.8 BPG last season), but Kessler can’t erase everything. If opposing guards consistently turn the corner, the Lakers will be in four-on-three situations.
That begs the question we always ask about Luka: Can your best offensive player survive being hunted?
Luka has faced that question throughout his career. Los Angeles needs enough perimeter defenders around him that the answer doesn’t become the reason its season ends.
2. Walker Kessler Is A Major Upgrade, But What Happens When He Sits?
Kessler might be one of the most important players on this roster precisely because of what he doesn’t need to do. He doesn’t need touches, just protect the rim, rebound, set screens, and finish around the basket.
That’s a perfect role next to Doncic.
Kessler is averaging a career 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.5 steals, and 2.4 blocks. He only played five games during the 2025-26 season, averaging 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 70.3% from the field.
His combination of size and timing gives the Lakers something they desperately needed: a legitimate defensive beast behind their perimeter players.
But Kessler can’t play 48 minutes, and Los Angeles doesn’t have an obvious second defensive monster behind him.
The 30-year-old Kevon Looney (2.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game last season) gives the Lakers experience, toughness, and championship pedigree, but he’s not the same type of vertical rim protector. The Lakers therefore have to be careful about what happens during the roughly 10-15 minutes each game when Kessler isn’t protecting the basket.
That becomes even more important in the playoffs.
If Kessler is on the bench and Los Angeles doesn’t have another legitimate rim protector on the floor, expect opposing guards and wings to repeatedly test the paint.
There’s another wrinkle, too. Right now, the safety net in the paint looks thin.
3. The Power Forward Position Is A Giant Question Mark
This is the roster hole that may not become obvious until the Lakers start playing good teams. LeBron James, who posted 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game, is gone, and so is Rui Hachimura (11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game).
That leaves Los Angeles without a proven, natural two-way starting power forward, and that’s a big deal.
LeBron wasn’t the defender he once was, but his size, passing, and rebounding gave the Lakers enormous lineup flexibility. He was still often the largest forward on the court at 6’9″ and 260 lbs. Hachimura, meanwhile, provided size and scoring as a forward who could space the floor.
The Lakers now need to figure out who fills that role, and this isn’t simply about finding someone who can score 15 points.
The ideal power forward next to Luka and Kessler needs to defend wings, rebound, knock down open threes, and survive switches.
If Los Angeles goes offense-heavy at the position, it could exacerbate the defensive problems already created by Luka and Reaves. Luka is one of the greatest offensive engines in basketball history, but the roster around him has to make opponents pay for helping off somebody.
The Lakers therefore need their power forward to be dominant at times. Judging by the roster right now, they are missing that.
4. The Center Rotation Is One Kessler Injury Away From Getting Really Uncomfortable
This is closely connected to the Kessler issue, but it deserves its own category. The Lakers desperately need the 7’2″, 245-lb Kessler to be dominant but also stay healthy.
Kessler has dealt with injuries during his young career, only playing 201 games over four seasons. Last season, he only appeared in five games before being sidelined with a left shoulder injury that required surgery.
Obviously, Los Angeles is betting heavily on his availability because the drop-off behind him is significant.
Looney can provide minutes and knows what championship basketball looks like after winning multiple titles with Golden State. But the Lakers aren’t paying him to replicate Kessler’s defensive impact.
That’s impossible because Kessler’s value is tied to his ability to change what opponents are willing to do around the rim. A guard who sees a 7-foot rim protector waiting underneath suddenly thinks twice about attacking.
Kessler is built for a Luka-led team. But if he gets into foul trouble, misses time or simply needs a breather, Los Angeles’ entire defensive system changes.
The Lakers therefore have very little room for error at center, and a true contender shouldn’t be one injury away from having to completely rethink its defensive identity.
5. The Lakers Have Talent, But How Much Playoff Experience Do They Actually Have Together?
The Lakers have plenty of individual experience, with Luka making the Finals over five postseason runs, Reaves competing in four playoff runs, and even Looney has been through virtually everything with the Warriors as a two-time champion with five postseason appearances.
But this new group? It has barely played together.
The Lakers are asking a new supporting cast to immediately understand how to play around one of the most ball-dominant superstars in basketball in a loaded Western Conference.
For example, Sexton has spent his career as an aggressive scoring guard who wasn’t required to influence winning. Now he has to learn when to attack and when to get out of Luka’s way. He hasn’t played a single playoff game at 27 years old.
Grimes only has two playoff appearances, averaging 24.3 minutes per game with six starts, and needs to understand exactly where Luka wants him to stand when the defense collapses.
Kessler has to learn Luka’s timing as a passer, and Reaves has to balance his own creation with the reality that the offense belongs to Doncic.
During the regular season, a talented team can overcome bad possessions. In the playoffs, opponents spend an entire week studying your weaknesses. The Lakers will have to learn under those conditions.
And that’s risky when the franchise is trying to maximize Luka’s prime.
If this group clicks, Los Angeles could be terrifying. Luka is good enough to make ordinary offensive possessions look ridiculous, and Kessler gives him a paint target that can punish defenses for blitzing him.
But chemistry has to be built, and that is a real weakness of this team heading into a 2026-27 campaign that will heavily feature the OKC Thunder and San Antonio Spurs leading the way in the West.
