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.

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

Q: Do you envision the Lakers making a big move?

BT: Let’s start with this: The Lakers will not be acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee, and he’s the biggest name out there when it comes to the trade chatter. The Bucks don’t sound inclined to want to move Antetokounmpo and he hasn’t requested a trade. He’s dealing with a right calf injury that will sideline him past the trade deadline.

So, Laker fans, forget about that happening and that therefore means L.A. will not be making a big splash.

And don’t forget, the Lakers made a very big move last year when they got Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis, a first-round pick and other players in a three-team deal.

TN: The Lakers broke the NBA with that trade a year ago; a repeat event would be pretty outrageous, even for this franchise. After the trade that brought Doncic to L.A. completely reset the organization’s timetable, it makes more sense for this trade deadline — and the ensuing offseason — to be about recalibrating the finer points of the roster and salary sheet to set up for the true Doncic era.

Q: What is the most likely scenario for the Lakers?

BT: From talking to NBA executives and scouts who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, the most likely scenario for the Lakers is to make moves along the margins. NBA people say the Lakers are looking for big wing players, but they said so is most of the league.

According to some of those NBA folks, the names that have been attached to the Lakers as potential trade targets are Dallas’ Naji Marshall, a former Doncic teammate, Cleveland’s De’Andre Hunter, Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo and Sacramento’s Keon Ellis. New Orleans’ Troy Murphy III and Herbert Jones are two players the Lakers have shown some interest in — as have many other teams — but NBA people say the asking price is so high that teams are waiting to see if that comes down by the deadline next week.

To make any of these deals, the NBA executives and scouts said, Lakers forward Rui Hachimura and his expiring $18-million contract is a name that comes up often as a tradeable player. Hachimura’s recent outstanding play has increased his trade value around the league, but it also has made the forward a very valuable player for the Lakers.

Lakers seldom-used guard Dalton Knecht has been a player that NBA people say L.A. is willing to move in a trade, along with a second-round pick attached to him to make it work.

TN: Knecht was playing with a lot of confidence through a brief stretch of this season, exhibited most by him taking charges in consecutive games against the Pelicans and the Spurs. But the Lakers have already shown they are comfortable parting with the former 17th overall pick. He was sent to Charlotte last year before the Mark Williams trade fell through.

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

Austin Reaves to the Bucks, LeBron James to a third team, and the return rerouted to Milwaukee.

The Los Angeles Lakers have no realistic way to pair Luka Doncic with Giannis Antetokounmpo and build a European superteam. What the Lakers have proven throughout the franchise’s history, however, is that the rules of what traditionally defines a trade as realistic don’t apply to them.

With the 2025 trade for Doncic fueling that belief, the Lakers could potentially make an offer for Antetokounmpo that no team wants to see them make—if the involved parties agree to it.

In the hypothetical scenario, Austin Reaves and a 2031 first-round draft pick would be sent to Milwaukee, as well as potential pick swaps. LeBron James, meanwhile, would be traded to a third team, with the return from that endeavor being rerouted to Milwaukee.

In the event that James and Reaves sign off on this move in their respective ways, the Lakers could offer the Bucks a significant return and become sustainable contenders.

The hypothetical trade offer would require two key developments: Reaves agreeing to re-sign with the Bucks and James signing off on being traded. James, of course, has a no-trade clause, while Reaves will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer.

In the event that those moving pieces fall into place, the Lakers would be offering Milwaukee a package that few teams would look forward to competing with.

Giannis to Los Angeles, Reaves to Milwaukee, LeBron to third team
Reaves is a 27-year-old guard in the midst of a season during which he’s averaging 26.6 points, 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 2.7 three-point field goals made per game. Prior to the calf injury that’s cost him every game since Christmas, he was a legitimate candidate for a first career All-Star nod.

Considering Reaves has improved his season averages in points, assists, rebounds, and three-point field goals made every year he’s been in the NBA, there’s reason to believe he can improve even further.

That makes him a player Lakers fans would likely be unwilling to lose, but it’s also why he could appeal to the Bucks. He’s young enough to help the team build over the next two-to-three seasons, all the while still being in his prime when they’re ready to contend again.

Compounded by the arrival of a first-round selection and pick swaps, as well as sharpshooter Dalton Knecht, the Bucks would have interesting building blocks to start their retooling with.

The James element is the tricky piece of the puzzle, but he’ll likely have 29 potential suitors. If he decides to move on from Los Angeles and join another contender with whom he better fits, then the return would likely be significant given his salary, talent, and name value.

That would enable the Lakers to then turn the return for James into an even stronger offer for Antetokounmpo, with picks and quality players likely included.

It can’t be overstated how dependent this offer would be on James and Reaves committing their future to new teams. Milwaukee would be unlikely to trade for Reaves without a commitment to a new contract, and James can decline any trade Los Angeles attempts to include him in.

If the Lakers manage to get James and Reaves on board, however, a trade for Antetokounmpo would be realistic—and their offer would make rival executives tremble.