There was so much anticipation heading into the Los Angeles Lakers' 2026 offseason, and at the end of the day, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka wasn't afraid to make moves.
The Lakers underwent massive roster turnover, which included the loss of all-time great LeBron James. At the same time, LA snagged their center of the future in Walker Kessler and overall put together a team that Luka Doncic seems happy with. (He was reportedly consulted on the summer roster moves, for what it's worth).
NBA analyst thinks the Lakers bombed their offseason
Not every Lakers observer feels that Pelinka did a good job this offseason. On the most negative end of the spectrum exists NBA analyst Yossi Gozlan, who believes the Lakers had the worst offseason in the entire league.
Speaking on his Third Apron Podcast, Gozlan expressed a distaste for the Lakers' heavy commitment to Kessler and their collection of imperfect depth additions. Gozlan's guest on the show, CBS' Sam Quinn, didn't quite agree with Gozlan's scathing assessment, but Quinn did admit that the Lakers “fired all their bullets” to land Kessler.
Arriving at a realistic assessment of the Lakers' offseason
The Lakers did what they said they were going to do and signed Austin Reaves to a big, new contract (something that Doncic wanted). They did pay a pretty penny to acquire Kessler -- two unprotected first-rounders and two swaps. Many would classify that as an overpay (certainly Gozlan).
Pelinka then filled out the rest of the roster with depth pieces that are all solid on paper. These could end up better or worse than "solid" once the season gets underway -- we'll have to see. Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, and Kevon Looney are all guys who can contribute to an NBA rotation if healthy ... there's no doubt about that.
Losing LeBron can't be glossed over. The Lakers also moved on from Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Deandre Ayton, and Jaxson Hayes. No one will miss Ayton, but those other names made real contributions in 2025-26 for a team that reached the second round without Doncic in the playoff picture.
Lakers took on substantial risk with Walker Kessler addition
Kessler was a good acquisition for a Lakers team that badly needed a center, but there's still risk there, especially given Kessler's recent injury history. He played in just five games last season.
There's also the fact that Kessler isn't a high-volume scorer (not a proven one anyway), and he's never experienced playoff basketball. Keep in mind that the Lakers sent out a haul of draft capital to get this player, as aforementioned.
Quinn is right -- the Lakers did fire all of their bullets to get Kessler. It's left them with meager assets to go after another (much-needed) wing. The consequences of giving up so much draft capital in the Kessler deal are already showing up.
At the same time, the Kessler situation and the Lakers' other depth adds are far from deserving of the "worst offseason" label communicated by Gozlan. Kessler filled a glaring need, and he'll be an awesome lob threat and rim protector alongside Luka if he stays healthy. That alone places the Lakers well above "worst" categorization.
Pelinka committed to his moves and didn't hesitate. Whether or not this blueprint will result in contention for the Lakers remains to be seen, but you at least have to admit that LA picked a path and went all in.
Sure, the Lakers don't have much flexibility at all now, but there's also a future in which Kessler and the other additions Pelinka made morph into a championship-type team around Doncic and make the Lakers really, really good moving forward. You don't need a ton of roster flexibility when your roster is contention-ready as constructed.
We'll see. Kessler needs to stay healthy, that's for sure. And yes, the Lakers could really use another wing. But to call this offseason a disaster is off-base. The Lakers moved in a completely different direction that has a chance to reap rewards.
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