The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to have a quiet trade deadline. President of basketball operations Rob Pelinka is saving up the franchise's resources for a bountiful 2026 offseason, in which Pelinka will truly begin the work of building a contender around Luka Doncic.
It does beg the question, though, what kind of players will Pelinka be pursuing over the summer?
ESPN's Brian Windhorst did much to answer that question during a television appearance on Monday.
Brian Windhorst outlines Lakers' offseason roster plan
Windhorst brought up the 2023-24 Dallas Mavericks as a model for Pelinka to use in constructing the Lakers. It's not a bad idea, considering the Mavs reached the NBA Finals with Doncic as their best player.
Dallas' strategy was to surround Luka with athletic perimeter defenders (Josh Green, Derrick Jones Jr.), shooting (Tim Hardaway Jr., Kyrie Irving, Seth Curry), and lob threats/rim protectors (Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, Dwight Powell).
Windhorst zeroed in on Lively as a guy who was a perfect lob threat for Luka, saying the Lakers need to go out and get someone like that (sorry, Deandre Ayton).
The assignment for Pelinka is clear.
Get at least one more lob threat, and surround Luka with versatile defenders, ideally ones who can also hit open 3s. PJ Washington was another Mavs player who sort of did everything you need around Luka -- defend multiple positions, hit 3s, and thrive without the ball.
Windhorst predicted that Austin Reaves would be returning to the Lakers, which wasn't a big surprise. Reaves is expected to sign a max deal with LA in the summer to become Luka's running mate in the backcourt moving forward, sort of how Doncic had Kyrie at his side in Dallas.
Reaves isn't quite the generational talent that Kyrie is, but he's certainly capable of scoring at a first-option level, which will disallow opposing defenses from double and triple-teaming Luka in the years to come.
Interestingly, Windhorst didn't rule out a LeBron James return, although he did stipulate that there's no chance James could make anything close to his current salary ($52.6 million) if the Lakers were to go in that direction. As has been acknowledged ad nauseam, LA simply doesn't have the cap space to pay Doncic, Reaves, and James max money while building a championship roster around Luka.
Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt are under contract with the Lakers in 2026-27 for a combined $18.4 million. As is Adou Thiero. Marcus Smart and Ayton have player options.
Beyond that, Pelinka will be working with a clean slate when it comes to rebuilding the Lakers to suit Luka's needs. It's impossible to predict exactly who Pelinka will pursue, but the blueprint is there.