After the Los Angeles Lakers acquired star guard Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in a stunning trade this season, the 25-year-old reportedly signaled to the Lakers that he wanted the team to acquire a big man.
L.A. responded by striking a deal with the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams. Unfortunately, after the trade deadline passed, the trade fell through, with the Lakers failing Williams on his physical.
One might expect Doncic to be disappointed following the failed trade, but according to a report, there has been “no tangible dismay” from his camp after L.A. opted to walk away from the deal.
“Yet there has been no tangible dismay from the Dončić camp about his new team walking away from the Williams deal,” wrote NBA insider Marc Stein. “Sources told The Stein Line that Dončić, in his first discussion about roster construction with Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, told Pelinka that he understood it might take until the summer to make that addition … and came away impressed by how swiftly the Lakers initially moved to try to address that void.”
Just because the Lakers weren’t ultimately able to acquire an impact big for Doncic this season doesn’t mean that they won’t address his request in the offseason. As Stein indicated, L.A. made an effort to get Doncic a big immediately, even though he understood that the team might need the summer to do it.
The Lakers lost star big man Anthony Davis in the Doncic trade, creating a huge void in the frontcourt for the team. Williams would have been a critical piece for L.A. to give the team a more complete rotation. Unfortunately, the Lakers will now have to navigate the rest of the season with some pieces that aren’t ideal to anchor their frontcourt.
Some fans certainly have questions about how far the Purple and Gold will be able to go following the failed Williams deal. The Lakers are 32-20 on the season, but it remains to be seen if L.A. is built for a deep playoff run given the state of its frontcourt.
The squad will have to hope that Doncic and fellow star LeBron James can lead the way for L.A. and get enough help from the rest of the rotation. Once the offseason finally rolls around, Pelinka and company will be able to look for a more permanent fix to their big man situation.
Since the hope is that Doncic will be in Los Angeles for a long time, the Lakers have to make sure they keep him happy.
