The strength of this new Los Angeles Lakers roster lies in its depth, but that does not mean the starters are off the hook — far from it. All of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, and Quentin Grimes will need to deliver in important areas for the Lakers to be contenders in 2026-27.
Who the fifth starter is remains a mystery at the moment. For the sake of a smooth five-man lookahead, let us give the momentary benefit of the doubt to Ziaire Williams as the guy who eventually secures the job. With that out of the way, a proper assessment of the key improvements necessary for the Lakers to contend can be had.
Luka Doncic: Get back in the paint on offense
This point was touched upon in its entirety in a separate piece on Lake Show Life. For a quick but important recap, here we go.
Doncic settled a lot last season. Despite leading the league in field goal attempts per game, Luka only shot about 8 percent of those at zero to three feet from the basket. For someone who shot 82.9 percent on those chances, that is a problem.
Bully ball needs to be reincorporated into Doncic's offensive strategy. Luka is way too good at powering past and through his defenders with his size and strength to not be aggressively attacking the basket with more regularity. With the extra shooting in Los Angeles, him collapsing defenses should make for a tough Lakers offense to guard.
Austin Reaves: A playmaking leap outweighs a scoring leap
Everyone is anticipating one more scoring leap from Reaves. With his usage set to go up, a new career high in the points per game category is pretty much a given. Where the Lakers need more out of him is as a playmaker.
LeBron James being gone is going to force the team to adjust after losing one of the best offensive maestros in NBA history. James reads the floor like few others can. That would always help keep everyone involved and active. Moving without the ball always had a purpose around him.
Doncic will do his part to keep the offense flowing, but Reaves must be right there with him. A jump to around 6.5 or 7 assists per game for the Lakers' second star would be ideal. Teammates need to know the ball will find them no matter who is running the attack as the primary initiator.
Quentin Grimes: Rediscover the perimeter defender that was employed in New York
There are one of two primary directions you can go with discussing the main improvement needed for Grimes in 2026-27. It comes down to discussing either a bounce-back in the deep-ball shooting, or a renaissance as a point of attack defender. The latter matters just a bit more.
Make no mistakes about it, the Lakers do need Grimes to be more effective than the 33.4 percent figure he posted on 3-point shots last season. Offense is going to be easier to come by in Los Angeles, though.
Where they truly need Grimes is as their lead perimeter guy on defense. The new Lakers guard knows it too.
Grimes discussed playing that role on defense earlier this summer. There was an enthusiasm and excitement in being that guy for the Lakers. Given the demand to alleviate Doncic and Reaves of the tougher matchups out there, hopefully the effectiveness matches the desire for the new arrival in LA.
Walker Kessler: Deliver a full season of offensive reliability
Excluding Kessler's five-game campaign in 2025-26, his career high of points per game currently tops out at 11.1. The Lakers are going to need more than that to justify the near $130 million price tag on his new deal.
Thankfully for him, Kessler now plays with Doncic.
Luka is the ultimate big man whisperer in the NBA. That should give Kessler every opportunity for his first season of stable offensive production across an entire campaign.
Doncic will deliver the lobs and the chances to finish off pick-and-roll opportunities. Kessler must work hard to also position himself for secondary scoring chances with his offensive rebounding. That 3-ball he has talked about would not hurt either.
Being a limited offensive player has been one of the major knocks on Kessler and the Lakers in the wake of him signing his new contract in Los Angeles. A 2026-27 campaign registering at least 14-plus points per game would quiet that talk quickly.
Ziaire Williams: Knock down your 3-point opportunities
Williams would secure a starting job based on his defensive ability. Even so, that does not mean the Lakers forward is permitted to be a non-factor on offense.
Ziaire should have a chance to be the recipient of Doncic's playmaking when cutting to the basket. Apart from those opportunities, there is a clear demand for Williams to be an effective shooter from beyond the arc as well.
The former Brooklyn Nets forward was an improved marksman during his time there. Williams shot 34.2 percent over two seasons with the Nets. That was a step in the right direction after his struggles in that department to start his career with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Doncic should heavily improve the shot quality for Williams in 2026-27. That is encouraging considering that Ziaire shot 43.8 percent on his 1.6 wide-open shots from deep last season.
If Williams is upping that effectiveness on the long ball, the Lakers may not need to search as hard for an upgrade at forward. It would allow them to focus on making roster improvements elsewhere, confidently believing they have the forward who can start for their contending-level team.
Add us as a preferred source on Google