DJ, you’re preaching truth right now. This squad just doesn’t have the juice to hang with real contenders. The turnovers, the stagnant possessions, the reliance on Luka and LeBron to play superhero every night—it’s not a sustainable formula. And yeah, the role players are giving “random number generator” energy at best.

Until this front office brings in guys who can actually impact winning on a nightly basis, we’re stuck hoping the stars can drag a flawed roster uphill. Love the fight, but the ceiling is what it is.

We won’t have 75 mil to spend on free agents. Austin’s cap hold will be 150% of of his current salary, around 22 mil. Ayton and Smarts cap holds will be 190% of their salaries. Plus we can’t go over the salary cap projected at 166 million signing free agents other than our own who we would sign after the free agent. I’ve read we have somewhere between 50 and 55 million available in cap space for free agents that aren’t our own.

WHAT A NIGHT IN L.A. 😮‍🔥LAKERS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS vs. WIZARDSAND Luka Dončić PUT ON A CLINIC.LUKA DONČIĆ TONIGHT:🏀 37 POINTS🎯 13 ASSISTS🧲 11 REBOUNDS🕵️‍♂️ 3 STEALS🔥 13/21 FG📊 +21 +/-⏱️ 31 MINUTES🚨 FASTEST TRIPLE-DOUBLE IN Los Angeles Lakers HISTORY(AND HE… pic.twitter.com/k3DxpqPyQb— FOCUS ON THE PROP (@Dfs4Everyone) January 31, 2026

FINAL #Lakers 142 #Wizards 111Luka Dončić 37 pts 11 reb 13 asis 3 robDeandre Ayton 28 pts 13 reb 2 asisLeBron James 20 pts 3 reb 6 asisJaxson Hayes 10 pts 3 reb 1 asis 1 robo Rui Hachimura 11 pts 2 reb 2 asis #SomosLakersMX💛💜 pic.twitter.com/02MGAR0ENG— L.A LAKERS MÉXICO 🇲🇽 (@LakersMX) January 31, 2026

LAKERS WIN! Luka Doncic dropped the fastest triple-double in Lakers history, as they blew out Washington, 142-111! 🪣Luka: 37 PTS, 11 REB, 13 AST, 3 STL, 13/21 FGM, 6/13 3PM, 31 MINLeBron: 20 PTS, 6 AST, 2 STL, 8/16 FGM, 2/3 3PMAyton: 28 PTS, 13 REB, 3 BLK, 3 AST, 12/14 FGM,… pic.twitter.com/ayKo5U1RNs— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) January 31, 2026

That's how you respond on the road! #Lakeshow pic.twitter.com/peGAE9me8J— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 31, 2026

I mean, yay and all, but we don’t need to prove we can beat bottom feeders… We need to start beating some contenders.

Got 20 we won!

ASSISTS! YES! When I coached JR PRO Basketball I wouldn’t tell them during or after the game about their Points, all I would say are Assists and Rebounds! Lot’s of sharing and Lotta Chips back then!

It’s great to hear from you, Jamie. You made great points as usual.

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

Los Angeles Lakers
Cap/Tax/Apron Picture: $7.1 million over the luxury tax, $977,225 under the first apron

Notable Traded Player Exceptions: None

Draft Pick Situation: The Lakers have their own first-round picks in 2026, 2028, and 2030-2032. However, because of picks they have outgoing, Los Angeles can’t trade their 2026, 2028 or 2030 first-round picks due to the Stepien Rule. The outgoing picks are a top-4 protected first to Utah in 2027 and 2029 first to Dallas.

The Lakers have one tradable second-round pick.

Trade Deadline Strategy: Buyers. Much like the crosstown rival Clippers, the Lakers are looking to add to their roster. But they also don’t want to take on money. For the Lakers, they’re being even more conversative, as they don’t want to take on salary that extends past this season, unless that player is a long-term fit on the roster.

Most Likely to be Traded: Maxi Kleber or Gabe Vincent. There’s a good chance that Los Angeles will do something with either Kleber or Vincent, because both are on expiring deals that are very tradable. It’s possible both could be on the move before the deadline.

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

There’s one negative consequence to Luka’s one-man offense.

The Los Angeles Lakers defense is the main thing preventing them from being a serious contender. Thankfully, JJ Redick just discovered the antidote.

Whenever the Lakers move the ball on offense, players other than Luka Doncic feel involved, leading to higher effort on defense. In turn, this leads to a higher rate of winning for the Lake Show. The win-loss column backs up this theory.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon pointed out during a new episode of The Hoop Collective podcast that the Lakers are 7-0 this season when they tally 30 assists as a team, and 21-4 when they record at least 25.

Lakers play with effort on defense when they move the ball on offense

Redick is aware of the trend. After the Lakers’ recent loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Redick called out Doncic for not passing enough.

A lot of fans interpreted this critique the wrong way. Redick wasn’t saying that Luka can’t spearhead a successful and efficient offense by dominating the ball. Rather, it’s that the Lakers defense suffers when no one’s getting enough touches on offense.

It’s human nature: Guys are going to let their effort slide on defense when they feel like they aren’t involved at all offensively.

This is the Lakers’ Luka conundrum. Doncic is a one-man offense, but that one-man offense often makes his teammates disinterested in the game altogether, leading to lazy and uninspiring defense.

Redick has recognized this dilemma, and he deserves credit for locating a solution to LA’s defensive woes that escaped him during the first half of the season.

Luka’s task to improve the Lakers now becomes slightly different than just exerting more effort on defense himself. He also needs to do a better job catering to his teammates’ psyches on offense, perhaps distributing the rock a bit more than needed to ensure that everyone feels invited to the party.

It’s not exactly a fair assignment to give to Luka, but it’s the one he needs to complete for this Lakers team to be at its best.

Just as the Oklahoma City Thunder of old used to feed Kendrick Perkins on the first possession of games, and just as the Detroit Pistons of old used to make sure Ben Wallace got a quota of post touches, the Lakers need to democratize their offense a tad more to keep their defensive players happy.

Winning big in the NBA is just as much about managing egos and personalities as much as it is about assembling talent and drawing up the right play. Kudos to Redick for diagnosing the issue at hand. Now, let’s see if Luka can execute the solution.

Tim MacMahon says quiet part out loud about JJ Redick’s comments on Luka Doncic

The Lakers need to get players involved on offense to get the most out of them on defense.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has withheld no thoughts or feelings about how Luka Doncic can best help his team win. That’s most recently taken shape with Redick stating that Doncic needs to, “Trust the pass,” which inevitably garnered a divided response from fans and analysts.

NBA insider and analyst Tim MacMahon recently weighed in on the subject during an episode of The Hoop Collective with the context some have overlooked: Doncic’s offensive approach directly impacts his teammates’ defensive effort.

Doncic is the epitome of polarizing on the offensive end of the floor. He’s a generational talent who has already led teams to two deep playoff runs, including a trip to the 2024 NBA Finals, but he’s also a ball-dominant orchestrator who can dribble out the clock more often than the average player.

During a recent episode of The Hoop Collective, MacMahon weighed in on Redick’s comments and offered his opinion that the Lakers’ supporting players need offensive touches to remain engaged on defense.

“JJ Redick is talking about, ‘Luka has gotta trust the pass.’ He’s not worried about offensive strategy. Because guess what? Luka ball-hogging is good offensive strategy, it’s efficient offense. He’s worried about: If the ball’s not moving, if guys aren’t involved…it does just completely sap their energy on defense. Luka’s passing impacts their defense, not necessarily their offense.”

It’s a matter of keeping teammates engaged and out of their own heads more so than skill or ability, and as Redick himself has described it, it: “Goes back to the human element of everything.”

Getting involved on offense helps players stay engaged on defense

Los Angeles is perhaps more susceptible to the reality that MacMahon outlines than most. Though there are several quality defenders on the roster, Marcus Smart, who’s 31 and on the other side of two injury-devastated seasons, is one of the few top-tier defenders on the roster.

Being an elite defender is an admittedly high standard to meet, but the Lakers have built their roster with players who aren’t exactly known for a high level of consistent effort on defense.

Even if they were, the notion of offensive involvement leading to defensive engagement is far from a new idea. Even low-volume offensive players are typically given a consistent role that allows them to play a part that isn’t limited to waiting for a pass to come their way.

Whether that includes screening, crashing the offensive glass, or simply operating as a piece of the connective tissue of a broader effort to score, they’re made to feel as though they matter.

Lakers rank near bottom of the NBA in several key involvement areas

When an offense runs so heavily through one ISO-based player, however, there’s only so much for their teammates to do. When there are three different players who fit that description—as is the case with Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves—the issue is magnified.

That’s been on clear display in 2025-26, as all three of Doncic, James, and Reaves have usage rates of 27.1 or higher. The Lakers inevitably rank No. 27 in passes made per game.

Los Angeles is also No. 26 in secondary assists and No. 29 in both potential assists and points created via assists per game. Perhaps most indicative of the tunnel vision on offense: The Lakers are dead last in distance traveled on the offensive end of the floor at 8.80. They’re the only team in the NBA below 9.00.

Considering the Lakers are also No. 25 in defensive rating, it would seem as though MacMahon and Redick are onto something.

OFFENSE AND DEFENSE ARE CONNECTED!It's just basic common sense that in a sport like basketball where offense and defense are played by the same personnel as part of a continuous battle unlike football or baseball that getting all 5 players on the team involved on offense is… https://t.co/tHu9cGX6FQ— LakerTom (@LakerTom) January 30, 2026