The Los Angeles Lakers say they are all in. One number tells a very different story. That is the number three. That is how many offseasons in a row the Lakers have gone without making a single trade: 2023, 2024, and now 2025.
Lakers standing still for three offseasons is not “all in”
For three years, the Lakers have not made an offseason roster-shaking deal. They have displayed no signs of Rob Pelinka and the front office are actually acting like a team chasing a title.
That is not how an “all-in” contender behaves. That is how a front office stalls and hopes something magically falls into place.
The organization needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror because ever since LeBron James arrived in 2018, this team has been living in win-now mode. And now that Luka Doncic is here? There should be no excuse not to go all-out.
You have got two generational talents, one defying age, one entering his prime, and yet, somehow, you are rolling into another season without making a single offseason trade to push the roster over the top? According to Jovan Buha, this is more than just a slow summer; it is a pattern.
“It’s been over three years since they made an offseason trade,” he pointed out on Buha's Block.
The last time they pulled the trigger in the offseason was in 2022, trading Talen Horton-Tucker for Patrick Beverley. Both of whom are guys who are now out of the league.
Sure, the team has made in-season moves, one of those being the shocking Anthony Davis–for–Luka Doncic trade last year. But if your entire “plan” is to wait until the deadline every year, you are constantly reacting instead of building.
Real contenders get out in front of their flaws. The Lakers are still acting like they have time.
Buha was careful in his wording, saying we will know more by the trade deadline. But even he admitted the team’s “lack of urgency over the last few years is worthy of criticism.” This is not just about fans being impatient. This is about missed windows.
The Lakers added Marcus Smart, DeAndre Ayton, and Jake LaRavia this summer, solid pieces, but none of them scream “title shift.” There are no signs of a bigger move coming other than a rumor surrounding Andrew Wiggins, whose name has floated around for quite some time.
Nothing has happened. The front office talks about being all-in, but three offseasons of standing still say otherwise.