Luka Doncic is “excited” about the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster reshaping around him heading into the 2026–27 season after a busy offseason built around retaining core scoring and adding defensive size, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic on Thursday, July 2. The franchise prioritized keeping Austin Reaves and acquiring elite rim protection in Walker Kessler as part of its post-LeBron James structure.
Doncic, 26, produced a high-volume, high-efficiency campaign in 2025–26, appearing in 64 games and averaging 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds while shooting .476 from the field and .366 from three. He also posted 4.0 turnovers per game across 35.8 minutes, anchoring the league’s fourth-place MVP finish in the voting hierarchy noted in team records.
The Lakers finished 53–29, good for fourth in the Western Conference, before 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 front office addressed with a mix of internal retention and targeted additions around Doncic’s offensive workload.
The most significant move came via trade for Kessler from the Utah Jazz in a deal that cost multiple future unprotected first-round picks and swaps stretching through 2033.
Reaves was retained on a four-year, $184.8 million contract after averaging 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting .490 from the field and .360 from three in 51 games. His secondary creation role remains central to Los Angeles’ half-court structure alongside Dončić’s primary on-ball responsibilities.
The Lakers also added Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, and Sandro Mamukelashvili to deepen the rotation, while selecting Cameron Carr at No. 24 in the 2026 NBA Draft. The incoming group is designed to support perimeter defense, secondary shot creation, and frontcourt depth behind Kessler.
Woike reported that Doncic’s approval of the offseason direction stemmed from two structural priorities being addressed: maintaining Reaves as a high-usage perimeter partner and adding a defensive rim presence in Kessler to stabilize the interior against elite Western Conference offenses.
