With media day and the start of training camp on the horizon, Lakers offseason roster reconstruction is about to come back into focus.
Will the Lakers’ roster changes around superstar guard Luka Doncic and star guard Austin Reaves, which included adding nine new players and saying goodbye to half of last season’s group, produce the desired results?
Was Walker Kessler worth the investment the franchise made to acquire him from the Jazz?
Most of the bigger-picture questions will take months — if not years — to answer.
But the Lakers entered the offseason with clear objectives.
Add the type of rim-protecting, rim-running big man Doncic typically thrives alongside. Which they accomplished with the Kessler acquisition.
Have a second star on the roster who can play off Doncic, as well as lead the team when Doncic isn’t on the court. Keeping Reaves addressed this need.
Build out a roster that was not only more complementary of Doncic but also deeper. Which they also accomplished.
The final part may be challenging to believe in light of the talent the Lakers let walk during the offseason.
But the Lakers’ 2026-27 roster as currently constructed is deeper than the one the team entered the offseason with.
With the departure of LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer in addition to several other historic accolades, it goes without saying the Lakers lost a lot of talent and experience.
James, Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton, Jaxson Hayes and Luke Kennard were not only instrumental to the Lakers’ 53-win 2025-26 regular season but were also the backbone of the first-round playoff series victory over the Rockets despite the absences of Doncic and Reaves.
The depth of last season’s roster was underrated.
But the depth for this season’s team is better.
For what the Lakers lost in sheer talent and experience, they’re making up for in complementary skills and options.
Coach JJ Redick mentioned the team needing to get better with dribbling, passing and shooting.
Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton help out in all of these areas, while Matisse Thybulle and Ziarie Williams help in at least one area while contributing to the improved collective perimeter defense.
And that’s before addressing Kessler being the backbone of what should be an improved Lakers defense.
The Lakers lost two of their best 3-point shooters in Hachimura and Kennard, but they still have plenty of shooting around Doncic and Reaves.
And they added shooting at the big men positions with Kessler and Mamukelashvili, which will help make it easier for non-shooting threats but athletic forwards, such as Jarred Vanderbilt and Adou Thiero, to stay on the floor.
Building out a more complementary roster will open options that weren’t as available last season.
The Lakers went from about 10 players who could be trusted with rotation minutes to at least 12 who could credibly be in the rotation on a given night.
Even without knowing the circumstances, it’s hard to imagine a world in which this season’s Lakers team could win a playoff series without Doncic or Reaves in the lineup for most of the series.
Let alone both.
The ceiling of the top-end talent behind Doncic and Reaves isn’t as high.
Their third-best player won’t produce in the ways James did in 2025-26.
But this season’s roster is deeper with the skills needed around Doncic and Reaves.
Which is what needed to happen.
