Luka Doncic is “excited” concerning the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster reshaping round him heading into the 2026–27 season after a busy offseason constructed round retaining core scoring and including defensive measurement, based on Dan Woike of The Athletic on Thursday, July 2. The franchise prioritized keeping Austin Reaves and acquiring elite rim protection in Walker Kessler as a part of its post-LeBron James construction.
Doncic, 26, produced a high-volume, high-efficiency marketing campaign in 2025–26, showing in 64 video games and averaging 33.5 factors, 8.3 assists and seven.7 rebounds whereas capturing .476 from the sector and .366 from three. He additionally posted 4.0 turnovers per recreation throughout 35.8 minutes, anchoring the league’s fourth-place MVP end within the voting hierarchy famous in staff data.
The Lakers completed 53–29, good for fourth within the Western Convention, earlier than being swept 4–0 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.
Los Angeles reshaped its roster after James departed in free agency following a 20.9-point, 7.2-assist season at age 41. Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, and Jaxson Hayes also left, creating rotation vacancies that the entrance workplace addressed with a mixture of inside retention and focused additions round Doncic’s offensive workload.
Probably the most vital transfer got here by way of commerce for Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a deal that price a number of future unprotected first-round picks and swaps stretching by means of 2033.
Reaves was retained on a four-year, $184.8 million contract after averaging 23.3 factors, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds whereas capturing .490 from the sector and .360 from three in 51 video games. His secondary creation function stays central to Los Angeles’ half-court construction alongside Dončić’s major on-ball obligations.
The Lakers also added Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, and Sandro Mamukelashvili to deepen the rotation, whereas deciding on Cameron Carr at No. 24 within the 2026 NBA Draft. The incoming group is designed to help perimeter protection, secondary shot creation, and frontcourt depth behind Kessler.
Woike reported that Doncic’s approval of the offseason path stemmed from two structural priorities being addressed: sustaining Reaves as a high-usage perimeter companion and including a defensive rim presence in Kessler to stabilize the inside in opposition to elite Western Convention offenses.
