The Los Angeles Lakers' 2026 offseason is no longer a future entity. It's here! The time is now! With the NBA Draft having arrived in full force, it's worth reminding Lakers Nation that this is a crucial summer for Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, even if he's operating with less cap space than initially expected.
The Lakers made a promise to Luka Doncic that they'd build a contender around him
Speaking of initial expectations, when the Lakers traded for Luka Doncic back in February 2025, they were already looking ahead to this summer as the time when they'd have the cap space to build a real winner around Luka -- the type of team replete with long, athletic wings and lob-threat centers that Doncic reached the NBA Finals with in a Dallas Mavericks uniform. In fact, the Lakers pledged to Luka and his camp that they'd get to work on this team-building assignment in the summer of 2026.
Unfortunately, that project has been marred somewhat by the inevitable return of LeBron James in the current free agency cycle. Every dollar that LeBron earns on his (widely expected) new Lakers deal will be a dollar that Pelinka can't spend on bolstering Luka's supporting cast as he promised he would.
Luka Doncic might get annoyed by delayed team-building process
Could the detour in LA's roster construction tick off Luka? The Athletic's Lakers writer Dan Woike said something interesting in recent days.
"I think there’s an actual threat that [Doncic] could have a wandering eye if the Lakers can’t deliver on the plans they presented last summer," Woike wrote.
A wandering eye, eh? It sounds like Pelinka better be on his A-game this summer.
The Lakers should copy the New York Knicks when it comes to roster construction
Here's the deal: The Lakers can't turn this thing around in one transaction cycle and enter 2026-27 looking like the top contender in the West. That's simply not plausible, given the state of the OKC Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, and given the Lakers' aforementioned limitations from a cap perspective.
BUT ... the Lakers can lay down the foundation right now for a two or three-year process whereby they return to contention supremacy. This is what the New York Knicks did in 2022 when they signed Jalen Brunson and, every year or so, made an additional move or two to slowly build a championship unit.
Woike's words were interesting because they implied that Luka might not be in the mood to practice some patience between now and the end of a three-year retool. If that's the case, the Lakers are in deep trouble. Hopefully, everyone's on the same page and Luka is down to build something sustainable over the next few years.
Add us as a preferred source on Google