Luka Doncic was the easy win, but the roster still fell short

The Lakers did plenty right. They extended Luka Doncic, added Deandre Ayton, signed Marcus Smart, took a developmental swing on Adou Thiero, and later corrected a shooting problem by trading Gabe Vincent for Luke Kennard.

The issue is that Los Angeles built a better team without building a complete championship team.

The Luka Doncic extension was the easy win

The most important move was also the least complicated one.

Los Angeles secured Doncic on a three year extension, which gave the franchise a clear foundation beyond the LeBron James era.

Everything else the Lakers did has to be judged through that lens. The roster was no longer being built only around LeBron’s final years. It was being built around Luka’s prime.

That part worked. Doncic gave the Lakers the offensive engine they needed, and the team improved to 53 wins with a 118.2 offensive rating.

The extension was the clearest win of the offseason because it answered the franchise question. The harder part was building the right playoff roster around him.

Deandre Ayton gave the Lakers their cleanest roster answer

Ayton was the cleanest basketball fit on the board.

The Lakers needed size, rebounding, vertical spacing, and a starting center who could give Doncic a real pick and roll partner. Ayton gave them that at a manageable price after he agreed to join Los Angeles on a two year deal.

He did not turn the Lakers into a dominant interior team. Oklahoma City still exposed them on the glass and with frontcourt activity in the second round.

Still, Ayton solved a real regular season problem. He gave JJ Redick a traditional center. He gave Doncic a lob threat. He gave the Lakers a structure they did not have before.

That makes the signing a win in hindsight, even if the Thunder series showed Los Angeles still needed more athletic size around him.

Marcus Smart helped, but the wing problem survived

Smart was a good value signing. He was also proof that one defensive guard cannot cover every perimeter issue.

The Lakers added Smart after his Washington buyout, and the logic was clear. They needed point of attack defense, toughness, and playoff experience next to Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron.

Smart gave them some of that. His contract made sense. His role made sense. His defensive edge helped.

The problem came against Oklahoma City, where the Lakers needed several long, quick, two way defenders. Smart could pressure the ball, but he could not erase every matchup problem across the floor.

That is where the Dorian Finney Smith departure aged poorly.

Los Angeles lost a reliable wing defender and did not fully replace him. Jake LaRavia gave them another forward option, but he did not become the kind of high leverage playoff piece the Lakers needed by May.

The Kennard trade showed the offseason left shooting unfinished

The Luke Kennard trade was useful. It also revealed the original roster still lacked enough shooting.

Los Angeles sent Gabe Vincent and a future second round pick to Atlanta for Kennard at the deadline, which gave Redick a cleaner movement shooter and another floor spacer.

That was smart roster maintenance. It also served as an admission that the summer did not fully solve the spacing problem around Doncic and LeBron.

The Lakers could score. Their offense finished top ten. Their playoff margin still shrank when opponents loaded up, forced extra decisions, and trusted Los Angeles to miss enough jumpers.

Kennard helped. He did not change the larger conclusion.

JJ Redick’s Thunder series exposed the depth issue

Redick deserves some criticism for the Thunder sweep. He also coached a roster that had fewer answers than Oklahoma City.

The Thunder had more playable depth, more athletic defenders, and more lineup flexibility. The Lakers had star power, but the supporting structure thinned out fast.

That showed up in the rotation. It showed up in the criticism of Redick’s late game decisions. It showed up in the way Oklahoma City kept applying pressure with fresh bodies.

Redick later admitted the Lakers were not good enough to win the title, which was the most accurate summary of their season.

The coach had to be better. The roster also had to give him more trustworthy options.

LeBron James made the timeline impossible to ignore

LeBron was still good enough to matter. He was no longer enough to cover every roster mistake.

He entered the season after picking up his $52.6 million player option, which made the year feel like a bridge between two eras.

The Lakers were trying to win with LeBron while preparing for Luka. That is a difficult balance. It becomes harder when the roster lacks enough shooting, wing defense, and reliable bench production.

Bronny James was part of the broader roster picture, but he was more development project than rotation answer. His limited role did not define the season. It did underline how little margin the Lakers had on a roster built to chase a title.

The final verdict is simple. The Lakers made themselves better in 2025-2026. They locked in Luka. They found a center. They added toughness. They corrected some shooting at the deadline.

They still ended the season looking one more serious roster move short.