The Los Angeles Lakers have an entirely new roster around their star duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. L.A. parted ways with six of their top 10 in minutes per game last season — LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes — and in their place are Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams.
The Lakers came into the offseason armed with two tradable first-round picks, three first-round pick swaps and around $50 million in cap space. Just about all of that was utilized, with the Lakers ultimately landing their top target in Kessler and a team that they believe is better suited to play around Doncic and Reaves. An anonymous Lakers executive spoke about the massive changes, what sparked them and how they were able to so greatly pivot, via Keith Smith of Spotrac:
“We had a feeling it was coming, and when LeBron (James) chose to go elsewhere, that locked it in,” a Lakers front office executive said. “The good news is that we knew we’d have Luka (Doncic) and Austin (Reaves) and that made the pitches to the guys we added really, really easy to make.”
Doncic and the Lakers were reportedly in constant communication over the summer about the type of team they were trying to build, meaning that the Slovenian superstar played a role in helping secure the team they have now. Playing alongside Doncic helped players like Hachimura, Ayton and Hayes have some of their most efficient seasons of their careers, and he hopes to do the same for the new crop of players.
Grimes, Kessler and Mamukelashvili have all explicitly spoken about the opportunity to play alongside Doncic and Reaves, especially since Grimes has already done so with Doncic as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. Hopefully, that translates to quick chemistry for a team looking to make an immediate impact together.
Luka Doncic is currently 100% healthy
Doncic missed the end of the 2025-26 regular season and the entire playoffs with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. When the Lakers were eliminated in the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was revealed that Doncic was nowhere close to a return. But the Lakers star announced earlier this week that he is fully healthy and cleared to return to action, meaning he’ll have two months at full strength before taking the court for L.A.
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