The Los Angeles Lakers are among the most decorated franchises in the history of North American sports. It's an unequivocal fact that even the most passionate of the Lakers' critics are unable to dispute.
With 17 championships, 32 NBA Finals appearances, and upwards of 30 Hall of Famers, the Lakers are the epitome of greatness.
For as accomplished as the organization is, Los Angeles isn't immune from some of the mistakes that haunt other organizations. That includes the at times destructive thought about what could've been had the front office made even a single different decision.
No question is more haunting than: Who did the organization give up on too soon? Across each decade, the answer is simple: Far too many players.
Editor's Note: The Lakers were one of the inaugural NBA franchises, but given the limited sample size from the 1940s, this article begins with the 1950s.
1950s: Slater Martin
Slater Martin played seven seasons with the then Minneapolis Lakers between 1949 and 1956. He became one of the most accomplished players in franchise history, winning and competing individually at the highest level.
The Lakers parted ways with Martin in 1956, however, and learned to regret the decision after seeing what he was able to accomplish during the second half of his career.
Martin helped the Lakers win four championships between 1950 and 1954. He earned four All-Star selections during his time with the franchise, garnering two All-NBA nods and setting career-best scoring marks during each of his final two seasons.
Contract disputes cut his Lakers career short, however, with Martin valuing himself differently than the franchise did, per the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
"I was a holdout every year with the Lakers,” recalled Martin later. “I felt like I was worthy of one figure and they didn’t. We had a hard time getting together."
Martin would play four more seasons, continuing to earn accolades and help his teams win. He was named to the All-NBA and All-Star teams in 1957-58 and 1958-59, and helped Bob Petit and the St. Louis Hawks defeat Bill Russell and the dynastic Boston Celtics in the 1958 NBA Finals.
One can't help but wonder what could've been had Martin spent those final five seasons with the Lakers instead.
1960s: Dick Barnett
The 1960s were one of the most legendary decades in Lakers history. Elgin Baylor and Jerry West set a new standard for individual play in the purple and gold, with Wilt Chamberlain joining the team further down the line and helping it win the 1972 NBA Championship.
For as great as Baylor and West were without him, one can't help but wonder how Dick Barnett could've helped them had he remained in Los Angeles.
Barnett played three seasons with the Lakers, averaging 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. That includes a mark of 18.2 points per contest on 46.1 percent shooting from the field between his first two seasons with the franchise, helping the Lakers reach the 1963 NBA Finals.
Barnett scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting to help Los Angeles win Game 7 of the 1963 Western Division Finals, as well as 20 in Game 1.
Unfortunately, Barnett was traded to the New York Knicks for Bob Boozer, who played just one season in Los Angeles. Barnett would get his revenge by helping the Knicks defeat the Lakers in the 1970 and 1973 NBA Finals. He averaged 23.1 points per game in his first season in New York.
Two championships and an All-Star Game appearance later, the man who Chick Hearn called Fall Back Baby ended up with more titles than the Lakers stars of that time.
1970s: Adrian Dantley
This one stings. The Los Angeles Lakers won just one championship between 1954 and 1980, which makes every regrettable decision even more difficult to stomach—even when those decisions may not have manifested until the fruitful 1980s.
Near the top of the list, if not the clear-cut No. 1, was the decision to part with Adrian Dantley after just two seasons—only to watch him immediately become one of the greatest scorers in NBA history.
Los Angeles traded Dantley, as well as Jamaal Wilkes, to the Utah Jazz for Spencer Haywood in 1979. The Lakers obviously dominated the 1980s, but Dantley had just averaged 17.3 points per game at 23 years of age—and was on the cusp of becoming a truly dominant scoring force.
Between 1979-80 and 1985-86, Dantley would go on to average a cumulative 29.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 56.2 percent shooting from the field.
During his Jazz career, Dantley won two scoring titles and made six All-Star Game appearances. He was twice named All-NBA and averaged upwards of 30 points per game in four consecutive seasons between 1980-81 and 1983-84.
A Hall of Fame inductee who scored 23,177 points during his legendary NBA career, one can't help but wonder how Dantley would've fit into the Showtime lineup.
1980s: Tony Campbell
It's hardly hyperbolic to state that Tony Campbell never got a fair shake with the Lakers. Between 1987-88 and 1988-89, he appeared in 76 games and played a mere 13.5 minutes per contest as he struggled to secure playing time in the late-era Showtime rotation.
That 1988-89 season marked the end of what could've been a fruitful relationship, as the series of questionable decisions that defined an erratic decade for the Lakers in the 1990s began.
The following season, 1989-90, Campbell finished third in the voting for the Most Improved Player award. Just one year removed from playing 12.5 minutes per game with the Lakers, he became the go-to scorer for the Minnesota Timberwolves in their inaugural season.
Campbell averaged 23.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 1989-90, and tallied 21.8 points per contest in 1990-91.
Not only did Campbell emerge as a productive scorer, but he did so at a time when the Lakers desperately needed a player like him. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had retired and no Los Angeles player averaged more points per game than Cambell during those two seasons.
Perhaps a trio of Campbell, Magic Johnson, and James Worthy could've weathered the injury storm during the 1991 NBA Finals.
1990s: Eddie Jones
A fan favorite who played 14 NBA seasons, the general consensus is that the Lakers traded Eddie Jones to create space for Kobe Bryant to develop. On that front, it makes sense that Los Angeles would choose the player who they justifiably believed had a higher ceiling.
Bryant obviously became one of the greatest players in franchise history, but one can't help but wonder how it would've played out had Jones stuck around.
Jones earned two All-Star Game appearances and another two All-Defense selections during his Lakers career. He was the prototypical wing, playing hard on both ends of the floor, producing well-rounded statistics, and even shooting the lights from beyond the arc.
During his four full seasons with the Lakers, Jones averaged 15.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.6 three-point field goals made on .466/.381/.771 shooting.
Jones was ultimately included in a trade for Glen Rice that helped Los Angeles win the 2000 NBA championship. Even still, Rice moved on the next season, while Jones was still playing at a high level when Rice retired in 2004.
Jones earned All-NBA, All-Defense, and All-Star honors after being traded. If the Lakers had found a way to play Bryant and Jones alongside one another, who knows what could've happened?
2000s: Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol never played a game for Los Angeles. He was also traded for his brother, Pau Gasol, who helped Kobe Bryant and the Lakers win two championships and reach three NBA Finals during his Hall of Fame level stint with the team.
Even still, one can't help but wonder what could've happened in Los Angeles had the Lakers kept the Gasol brothers together instead of splitting them up.
Marc Gasol played 13 NBA seasons, debuting in 2008 and retiring in 2021. During that time, he won Defensive Player of the Year, received two All-NBA selections, and was named an All-Star on three different occasions.
Gasol also helped the Toronto Raptors win the 2020 NBA championship and was the defensive anchor of a Memphis Grizzlies team that reached the 2013 Western Conference Finals.
Beyond the realm of the NBA, the Gasol brothers helped Spain win silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. In addition to being related, they were a dominant force on the court internationally—and would've fit seamlessly as a duo in the triangle offense.
The trade worked out in the end, of course, but one can't help but ponder how trading anything other than Gasol could've worked out for Los Angeles.
2010s: Julius Randle
There are several players to consider here, as the Lakers developed a tendency to give up on players too soon in the 2010s. The most accomplished player on that list also represents the biggest missed opportunity: New York Knicks star Julius Randle.
While All-Star wing Brandon Ingram was traded for an All-NBA mainstay in Anthony Davis, the Lakers simply gave up on Randle.
Randle struggled on defense during his first three seasons, but started to put it all together in year four. Despite effectively missing his entire rookie season, his development was clearly coming along as a potential high-level player.
An improved commitment to defense somehow resulted in fewer minutes, however, and the Lakers renounced the rights to his contract that next offseason.
Since then, Randle has become a two-time All-NBA honoree and three-time All-Star, as well as the 2021 Most Improved Player. He helped the Knicks end an eight-year playoff drought before Jalen Brunson arrived as the new franchise player, and continues to rank among the most productive forwards in the NBA.
In six seasons since leaving the Lakers, Randle has averaged 22.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. Los Angeles let him walk for nothing.
2020s: Alex Caruso
It's still somewhat early in the decade, making a selection for the 2020s a bit premature. One player who stands out from the current pack, however, is the defensive specialist whom the Lakers have desperately needed in each season since his departure: Alex Caruso.
A fan favorite who has become the epitome of a 3-and-D player, Caruso left for the Chicago Bulls on an affordable four-year, $37 million contract after four years with the Lakers.
Caruso broke out during the 2020 NBA Playoffs, seeing an uptick in playing time and thriving as one of the best defenders on the team. His contributions helped the Lakers win a championship, thus strengthening the belief among fans that he would be re-signed.
Instead, Caruso was lost in free agency—and has gone on to cement his reputation as one of the best defensive players in the NBA.
In three seasons with the Bulls, Caruso earned All-Defense honors in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He's also made significant progress as a shooter, burying a career-best 136 three-point field goals on 40.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
As the Lakers search for answers on the defensive end of the floor, not having Caruso on the payroll at an easily affordable figure becomes even more difficult to stomach.
The epitome of a player who never should've gotten away.