The Los Angeles Lakers are preparing for what could be an interesting 2025-26, when Luka Doncic will begin his first full campaign in the purple and gold. The Lakers haven't made a ton of moves this summer outside of extending Doncic, and it remains unclear if they can get near the level of teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference.
There have been immense trade rumors around the Lakers throughout the last few months as fans speculate that they might try to retool their roster around Doncic and LeBron James; however, ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel broke down why nothing has materialized on that front yet, and is unlikely to anytime soon.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to take their current roster into training camp and give this group a chance to prove themselves before charting possible trades and changes,” reported Siegel.
Still, there are two players that Los Angeles will keep a close eye on as things progress.
“The Lakers are interested in seeing what value Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber can provide,” reported Siegel.
Siegel also reported that the “Lakers' front office still explored the trade market this offseason for center depth and wing defenders before signing both Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart.
Interesting times for the Lakers
Gabe Vincent swindled the Lakers into a relatively large contract following his anomaly of a playoff run with the Miami Heat and he has largely either underperformed or been unavailable altogether during his stint in Los Angeles. Kleber, meanwhile, was the “other” part of the Luka Doncic trade, and was injured for the majority of last year with the Lakers, before head coach JJ Redick quite comically threw him into an elimination game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, leading to predictably disastrous results.
As Siegel mentioned, the Lakers did add Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton this summer, which gives them help in point of attack defense and frontcourt depth, the two biggest areas of need on their roster.
However, it's unclear if this Island of Misfit Toys built around James and Doncic will be enough to vault the Lakers into real contention in the wild west.
