NBA – Lakers punished by competition after Luka Doncic trade?

Par Mathieu Seguin | Rédacteur sport

The Lakers struck a blow with the arrival of Luka Doncic, almost considered a gift from the Mavericks when you look at the negotiations. And the rest of the league didn’t exactly appreciate it behind the scenes.

With a Luka Doncic in their roster now, the Lakers hope to have a real shot at the title in years to come. This 2025 campaign ended badly, but it’s still hard to judge this team. Doncic underwent a lot of changes and the roster was unbalanced after the major departure of Anthony Davis.

In the coming weeks, Rob Pelinka will be responsible for making a number of changes to resolve this situation. We’re thinking of adding one or two centers to the squad, as well as a winger, according to a few insiders. We’ll be keeping a close eye on all of this, especially as the Purple and Gold may find it difficult to negotiate on the open market.

Lakers sanctioned by other teams?

So why such a possibility? Because the Doncic trade has long been the subject of debate, as it still is today. Many are wondering about Nico Harrison’s negotiations, as he only called his good friend Pelinka for a chat. As for the other franchises, they never had a chance, even though some were willing to do anything for Luka.

A “gift” to the Lakers, and one that Jake Weinbach thinks won’t go down well. Some franchises wouldn’t want to help the Angelinos improve from now on, unless they decided to drop a lot of assets in a new trade. In other words, Pelinka may have trouble improving the franchise’s roster this off-season.

@JWeinbachNBA : “League executives believe the Lakers were handed a “gift” after acquiring Luka Dončić from Dallas. It’s important to note — this league-wide sentiment is expected to make it more challenging for the Lakers to negotiate with other teams. If the Lakers engage in trade discussions, the organization may have to “overpay” for certain players of interest on the market.”

Knowing that the Lakers got Doncic after dubious negotiations, nobody in the NBA really wants to help them any further. Nothing could be more logical, which means that the front office will have problems. To recruit, perhaps free agency or the draft will be more interesting.