The Los Angeles Lakers have completed one of the greatest mid-season hauls in NBA history. Between Dec. 29 and Feb. 5, the Lakers added All-NBA First Team mainstay Luka Doncic, rising star Mark Williams, and 3-and-D specialist Dorian Finney-Smith in three colossal trades.
Luck was certainly on Los Angeles' side during those deals, but Rob Pelinka deserves mountains of credit for what he was able to achieve.
In just over a month, Los Angeles assembled one of the best cores in the NBA. The manner in which it did so remains difficult to comprehend, as most believed Doncic to be untradable and Williams wasn't even a rumored target when the Lakers acquired him.
Pelinka has since revealed that the acquisition of Williams from the Hornets was a result of Charlotte reaching out to discuss the Lakers' need for a center.
In a small press conference with reporters pregame, Lakers VP of basketball ops and GM Rob Pelinka said that Charlotte reached out to LA regarding their need for a center. The Mark Williams trade was negotiated and agreed upon between the two sides in less than two days.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 7, 2025
Lucky as that may be, Pelinka deserves credit for getting all three trades over the finish line and parting with just two first-round draft picks in the process.
Rob Pelinka overhauled Lakers' roster at a single-star cost
It's understandable for Lakers fans to be weary of how much Pelinka gave up in this process. The franchise parted with Max Christie, Anthony Davis, Dalton Knecht, Maxwell Lewis, Cam Reddish, D'Angelo Russell, two first-round draft picks, a 2030 pick swap, and three second-round selections.
For as heavy as those losses may seem, the outgoing draft compensation is less than what most would have expected Los Angeles to give up for Doncic alone.
Instead, the Lakers added three starting-caliber players for the price of one superstar. Losing Davis obviously hurts, but the logic was clear as Los Angeles brought in a 25-year-old star to replace their 31-year-old franchise player and act as the heir apparent to 40-year-old LeBron James.
Parting with Christie and Knecht was tough to witness, but Los Angeles was diligent in its efforts to bring in a 23-year-old Williams and a 3-and-D specialist in Finney-Smith.
Doncic is already worth the price of admission given his talent level, résumé, and untapped potential. At 25 years of age, he's already a five-time All-NBA First Team honoree who won the scoring title and led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2023-24.
Williams, meanwhile, is the same age as Knecht and has posted averages of 18.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.9 offensive boards, 2.7 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 0.8 steals over his past 14 games.
As for Finney-Smith, he's already helped transform the Lakers on both ends of the floor. Los Angeles is outscoring opponents by 14.2 points per 100 possessions when he's on the court and is being outscored by 0.8 when he isn't. It also ranks No. 5 in the NBA in defensive rating since Jan. 1.
Having acquired three high-level players for the price of the one superstar he added, Pelinka deserves credit for a haul for the ages.