Lakers have removed any margin for error with trade deadline activity

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially opened the window for a championship season. With trades for All-NBA First Team mainstay Luka Doncic, rising star Mark Williams, and 3-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith, the Lakers have completed a pair of deals that could revamp its starting lineup and title aspirations.

In the process of completing those trades, however, Los Angeles has effectively established itself as a team that must win now.

No one should fault the Lakers for bringing in a top-five player in Doncic, a center on the rise in Williams, or a two-way wing in Finney-Smith. All three could occupy spots in the starting lineup and give Los Angeles a legitimate opportunity to contend.

Unfortunately, the Lakers have also put themselves back in a familiar position, with first-round draft picks shipping out left and right.

The return could prove worth it in the end, but the Lakers being without first-round picks in every other NBA Draft until 2031 is unavoidably alarming.

Lakers devoid of draft assets after deadline activity

Los Angeles has a captivating seven-man rotation of Doncic, Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Williams. It also has reason to believe that Gabe Vincent can continue to build upon a recent offensive resurgence, as well as his consistent defensive contributions.

With that team in place, the Lakers have a genuine opportunity to win a championship in 2024-25—especially if Doncic plays at the level he's capable of reaching and sustaining.

Doncic has already proven capable of putting a team on his back for a deep run through the playoffs. He led the Dallas Mavericks to the 2022 Western Conference Finals and 2024 NBA Finals, dominating crucial games during each of those experiences.

James, meanwhile, is a four-time NBA champion and Finals MVP who has as much insight into how to win during the playoffs as anyone in the Association.

For as true as that may be, the margin for error is officially nonexistent. Los Angeles struggled to field affordable talent during the Anthony Davis era, due in no small part to its tendency to trade first-round draft picks for short-term solutions.

These investments have a much clearer eye on the future, of course, but the decision to part with potentially affordable talent is alarming nonetheless.

The Lakers will now be tasked with relying on minimum contracts to fill out the rotation once again. Thankfully, their only pending free agents are Finney-Smith and James, and it stands to reason that Los Angeles could bring both back for the 2025-26 campaign.

Once the 2025-26 season passes, however, the Lakers will be back to searching for quality players in the minimum contract pool of talent—removing all margin for error.