There's no doubt that the Los Angeles Lakers are now Luka Doncic's team. With LeBron James off to Eastern Conference pastures (and, in his view, a better shot at a title), the Lakers have entered their Luka Era, and the front office spent the offseason surrounding Doncic with a handful of new pieces that should emphasize his strengths and help to mitigate his weaknesses (particularly defensively).
Notably, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka made Luka a collaborative voice in the club's roster decisions. For a new Sports Illustrated article written by Chris Mannix, Doncic didn't deny that he gave a ton of input when it came to the team's moves. He also sounded like he's happy with how the depth chart turned out.
“I think we’re very deep, which is very important, especially going to the playoffs,” Doncic said, per Mannix. “And we have guys that are not afraid. Some of the new guys, I’ve played against. They are not afraid.”
Luka Doncic seems to like the new Lakers roster
Wait, so ... is Luka implying that there were guys on last year's Lakers squad that were afraid? It's probably not worth reading too much into, but his choice of words was interesting. All in all, it does appear that The Don is a fan of the new-look roster around him.
LA's big-money acquisition was, of course, 7-foot-2 rim protector Walker Kessler, who will help make up for Doncic's defensive mediocrity as well as serve as a lob target on offense. Doncic had two of this type of player in Dallas in the form of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, but Kessler's bigger than both of them.
The Lakers also went out and got Luka some secondary offense to work with in the form of Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, and Quentin Grimes (though Grimes' greatest contributions will probably be defensively). Mamukelashvili will thrive as a spot-up shooter alongside Doncic, and he's already showing good form during preseason.
Is the roster finished? Pelinka has hinted that it's not, and, logistically speaking, the Lakers still need to cut things down by a player before the season starts -- probably in the form of waiving Dalton Knecht (we'll find out soon).
But the point is that the roster as constructed is good enough to satisfy Doncic. And if he's the spectacular superstar that we've seen he's plenty capable of being, Luka will be able to carry this team to high places. Whether that means true contention this season is another question entirely, but the Lakers will no doubt be one of the stronger teams in the West.
Lakers fans should feel comfortable about this: There was always a degree of friction with all three of Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James on the team ... but that's no longer the case. Vibes are strong, spirits are high, and chemistry is cooking. This is going to be a fun team to watch and root for.
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