If the Los Angeles Lakers could go back in time to the 2025 NBA trade deadline, they would make the same Luka Doncic trade 100 out of 100 times. It was a no-brainer move to make.
However, the Lakers may have been victims of their own success following the Doncic trade. Not many expected the team to compete for a championship due to some roster issues, but the team played so well with Doncic that many started to believe they could win it all.
Unfortunately, the Lakers got knocked out by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. Doncic was fine in the series, but he wasn’t able to reach the same heights he has in the playoffs in the past.
Doncic is likely the face of the Lakers for the foreseeable future, but if he wants to be considered one of the all-time greats, he has to win a championship, according to Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
“Great job by Coach JJ Redick to put everybody on notice on the Lakers team that they have to be in better conditioning for them to win an NBA championship. And I’m glad that Luka listened to JJ,” Johnson said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “Luka, it’s great what you did in Dallas, but the difference is in Los Angeles, we expect championships. And we expect our superstars to lead us to a championship. LeBron has already did that, now we want Luka to do the same thing.”
Johnson Talks Lakers’ Needs
Doncic is the Lakers’ most important player, but even with how good he is, he’s never won a championship. It’s going to take more than just him to get Los Angeles another championship, and Johnson made sure to acknowledge that.
“But it’s gonna take more than just Luka,” Johnson said. “It’s gonna take more than just Luka being in shape. Rob Pelinka has gotta improve the roster. We need a big man and so hopefully we’ll be able to get a big man during this offseason. I think we must improve the bench as well, and so Rob will have a chance to do that as well. We gotta get faster. Right now, the Lakers are too slow, and Minnesota really exposed the Lakers. When they had individual matchups, they went at Luka, and they went at Austin Reaves, so they must improve the defense. If they don’t improve the defense, it’s no way the Lakers can win a championship.”
Can Lakers Get Back to NBA Final?
As long as LeBron James doesn’t fall off too much next season and Doncic is still an All-NBA-level player, the Lakers will be in the playoff mix. However, the team does need to make some moves.
They can’t go into the playoffs with Jaxson Hayes being their only playable center. They understand this and are likely to be aggressive in adding a center. The trio of Doncic, Reaves and James is very strong, but they all have similar skill sets. The Lakers could also use another sharpshooter. If the team has a good offseason, they could be one of the favorites to win it all next season.
