Lakers Buy or Sell: Offseason moves fall short of title contention with Luka Doncic, LeBron James

This offseason, the Lakers needed to find a dependable guard behind Doncic and Austin Reaves, as well as address their frontcourt. Not having an impactful big man negatively impacted Los Angeles’ title chances last season, especially g iven the frontcourt talent existing in the Western Conference.

When Deandre Ayton agreed to a buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers instantly got on the phone to attempt to secure the former first-overall pick. With Doncic’s help, Ayton chose the Lakers and is slated to be the team’s starting center for the 2025-26 season.

Between his rebounding abilities and efficiency in the paint, Ayton is the ideal big man for Los Angeles to have next to Doncic and James. While he may not be a high-flying, athletic center, the 27-year-old gives the Lakers what they’ve been lacking: size and rebounding.

After watching Finney-Smith walk out the door and sign with the Houston Rockets, finding a defensive-minded player with experience became a must for the Lakers.

During NBA Summer League, the word surrounding Los Angeles was that they were on the verge of making a backcourt upgrade that would shake up their roster.

That is when Marcus Smart agreed to a buyout with the Washington Wizards. Jordan Goodwin and Shake Milton were both waived by the Lakers, and Smart agreed to a two-year contract, taking what was left of the team’s mid-level exception after signing Ayton.

These two moves — signing Ayton and Smart — have hard-capped the Lakers at the first apron. Pelinka and the front office were creative in spreading out their cap numbers, and the organization is just $1.1 million away from this hard cap.

It is very intriguing how the Lakers have navigated the tax aprons, opening up flexibility for themselves to spend on stars in 2026 and 2027.

Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Maxi Kleber will all be free agents next offseason alongside LeBron, taking close to $100 million off the Lakers’ books. Reaves also has a player option he will likely decline to enter free agency and earn a larger contract.

Other than Doncic, nobody is under contract long-term in Los Angeles, which gives Pelinka and his team the flexibility needed to lure other superstar talents to Los Angeles and compete for a championship.

However, the Lakers, Doncic, and James want to win right now. While Ayton and Smart are definitely impactful talents, are they enough to get this franchise over the hump and back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2020 in a very crowded Western Conference?

Are Lakers’ offseason moves enough to win NBA Finals?

Out of all the headlines coming out of Los Angeles this offseason, the most intriguing has to be Luka’s body transformation and his dedication to getting in shape before the 2025-26 NBA season.

Doncic was heavily criticized through the years in Dallas for his fitness and health, something he has appeared to take personally this offseason. The Lakers star looks like he’s in the best shape he’s been in since entering the league in 2018, and Doncic is all-in when it comes to competing for a title immediately.

“I don’t want to wait. I had a taste of the Finals. I am getting back there,” Doncic told Pelinka and Reddick at a dinner this summer before signing his recent contract extension, according to ESPN. “So let’s do whatever we can now.”

This plea from Doncic saw the Lakers bring in both Ayton and Smart, two players he pinpointed as key targets Pelinka and the front office needed to pursue this offseason after securing buyouts with Portland and Washington, respectively.

While the Lakers also explored the trade market for talent who could improve their chances of winning, specifically on the wing to replace Finney-Smith, these efforts didn’t lead anywhere.

Asking prices around the league have been too high, and that is the problem the Lakers ran into with the Miami Heat when inquiring about Andrew Wiggins.

As a result, the Lakers appear done making moves and changes to their roster this offseason. Head coach JJ Redick and this organization believe they have a well-balanced roster, especially when it comes t o impactful defensive talents, to compete in the West.

Players like Hachimura, Vincent, and Kleber could be dealt before the trade deadline in February, but the Lakers want to see what this team looks like before taking a big swing.

Not to mention, Pelinka wants to maintain their future cap flexibility to pursue another star next to Doncic once James retires or leaves.

So, did the Lakers do enough this offseason by adding Ayton, Smart, and Jake LaRavia to be any more of a title threat than they were last season?

Ayton can obviously be an X-factor in the paint, but his inconsistencies shadowed his success in Phoenix and Portland. Also, there are obvious concerns about his availability, as Ayton has missed roughly 42 percent of his team’s games over the last two seasons.

Although Smart was the 2021-22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, he has not been the same high-level talent since departing the Boston Celtics in 2023. He too has struggled to remain healthy and has played only 54 combined games over the last two years with the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards.

Even though the Lakers made the right moves this offseason and have better depth with Ayton and Smart, it’s hard to believe these two changes will put this organization in the same category as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and others at the top of the West.

Despite being the 3-seed in the West last season, it’s hard to buy into the notion that the Lakers have drastically improved their pursuit of a championship this offseason with the additions of Smart and Ayton.

BUY OR SELL HEADLINE: BUY — The Lakers are still a three-man team with Doncic, James, and Reaves, and they still have work to do.