FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

A not-so-subtle hint before the trade deadline

On the one-year anniversary of the most shocking trade in NBA history, one that rocked the league and reshaped the life and outlook of this Substack writer, Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers were back on center stage. This time, at Madison Square Garden, the mecca of basketball, against the New York Knicks.

Over the past year, most of us, even if we have not fully forgotten, have moved on. But watching Dončić face his old pal Jalen Brunson, now as a Laker and a Knick, still brings back the what-ifs. It will probably always feel that way. It will never stop being The Showdown That Should’ve Never Happened.

For Dončić and his Lakers, this game was also a reminder that the trade took him a few steps back, from a Mavericks team reshuffled around him for another run at the Finals to a Lakers team that clearly still needs a rebuild. The Lakers played a fairly competitive game, but still fell 112–100 to a deeper, more talented Knicks team.

All is not doom and gloom for the Lakers. At 29–19, they remain firmly in the mix in a very tight Western Conference race. One game remains against the Nets on a prolonged eight-game road trip, and a win would make it a 5–3 trip and a very successful one before an extended homestand.

The team is still waiting for reinforcements. Internally, the return of Austin Reaves, who has now missed his 25th game of the season, is still pending. Externally, help at the trade deadline to kick-start the rebuild and build trust that a clear plan exists would go a long way.

This one’s free! If you enjoy this kind of game breakdown and deadline talk, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Today’s notes:

Different teams, different plans, same goal

Shooting was the Lakers’ downfall, and it remains a season-long problem

The Knicks’ team-building model

Fun Spain pick-and-roll hide-and-seek (VIDEO)

LA has two All-Stars, but neither is a Clipper

1-Different teams, different plans, same goal

Dončić and Brunson are two of the league’s most ball-dominant scorers, and it felt like both coaches were preparing for a familiar problem, knowing how hard it is to slow them down once they find a rhythm early.

The Lakers tried to slow Brunson and the Knicks by going to zone defense from the start and sticking with it for most of the game. The Knicks’ plan was to force Dončić to give up the ball by consistently showing two defenders on most of his screens. The Lakers started the game well, with fast and aggressive rotations that kept them in control through the first two periods and limited the Knicks to 52 points at the half. As the game progressed, the Knicks grew more comfortable attacking the Lakers’ unconventional defense, which increasingly kept Los Angeles in scrambling mode. The clearest indicator of both teams trying to force “the other” to beat them was the volume of corner threes. There were 37 taken in this game, the fourth-most in any of the 1,969 games played this season.

2-Shooting was the Lakers’ downfall, and it remains a season-long problem

The defensive plans largely worked, as both stars were held below their scoring averages, although Dončić, with 30 points, came much closer than Brunson, who was limited to 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting. Last night, the difference was the supporting casts and their ability to convert open threes. The Knicks punished the Lakers, hitting 11 of 23 corner threes and shooting 43 percent overall from deep. The Lakers, meanwhile, managed just 2 of 14 from the corners and 12 of 42 overall from three.

Tonight both teams had 42 three-point attempts:

– NYK shot 43%, or 64% eFG, +10 above expected
-LAL shot 29%, or 43% eFG, -11 below expected

NYK made 6 more trees, a +18 margin on 3s.
Iztok Franko @iztok_franko
Three-point shooting has been Lakers problem all season…esp with Smart, LaRavia starting and Vando playing a bigger roles in the rotation.

Smart at 32.6%, LaRavia 32.7%, Vando 30.3%.
Three-point shooting has been a well-chronicled problem in this space. The Lakers have rough nights surviving when both starters, Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart, cannot punish defenses collapsing around Dončić and LeBron James. They combined to shoot just 2 of 10 from three. The spacing when Jarred Vanderbilt, who went 0 for 3 from three, is on the floor, especially when paired with another non-shooting center, has been another well-documented problem.

Another problem this season has also been James, who shot above 40 percent on catch-and-shoot threes in the previous two seasons, struggling to convert. He is making just 33 percent of his spot-up threes and has passed up several open looks in recent games.

LeBron has been great catch and shoot three-point shooter in prior two seasons. He made 42% of them last season, and 45% in 23-24.

He is 24 of 72, 33% so far this season. Hopefully, his shot will come around in the second half of the season.

Jason Timpf @_JasonLT

LeBron has to be a more willing catch and shoot player. He’s passed on several good looks.

This roster is so devoid of catch and shoot talent, and LeBron has a strong recent track record there. He can’t *also* be one of the half dozen Lakers who doesn’t want to shoot.
Apart from athleticism, the lack of shooting has been one of the most evident roster deficiencies this season and needs to be addressed.

3-The Knicks’ team-building model

With the trade deadline just a couple of days away, recent games have felt even more like roster evaluation and reflection exercises (NOTE: If you missed my first deadline team-building deep dive, check it out here). Last night, the difference in three-and-D options around Brunson, compared to what the Lakers currently have, was impossible to miss.

Yes, Josh Hart had an outlier shooting night, going 3 of 4 from three, while Landry Shamet shredded the Lakers’ zone, hitting 6 of his 10 three-point attempts. However, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges are the prototype of the modern two-way wing the Lakers so desperately need around Dončić. Both have great length and are strong defenders, with Anunoby being elite on that end. Both have also made more than 200 corner threes over the last three seasons, converting at over 40 percent. Even Josh Hart, who has a reputation as a high-motor, hustle and glue player but a shaky shooter, has converted 36 percent of his corner looks.

The Knicks also feature two very different big men, each elite in their own way. Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the league’s best shooting bigs and a lethal pick-and-pop partner for Brunson, providing the spacing their star guard needs to operate. His alternative, Mitchell Robinson, may be the best offensive rebounder in the game, punishing switching or scrambling defenses by dominating the glass. Robinson had a relatively quiet night by his standards, with only three offensive rebounds, but was still a big part of the reason the Knicks won the possession battle.

The Knicks’ shooting, along with being a top-five offensive rebounding team, explains why they rank as a top-three offense, while the Lakers are only seventh, despite having the better main engine.

4-Fun Spain pick-and-roll hide-and-seek (VIDEO)

Spain, or stack pick-and-roll, is a double-screening action with a ball screen in the middle of the floor and a guard setting a back screen on the ball screener’s defender before popping to the top of the key. It is one of the most basic and popular actions in the NBA, and for a long time, one of Dončić’s favorites.

Last night, Dončić and the Lakers ran this action on three consecutive possessions to target Robinson and Towns, neither of whom is the most mobile defender, or in Towns’ case, the most attentive. On the first possession, Robinson closed out on Dončić, but the Knicks did not want to leave the big man on an island. Hart doubled, which left Gabe Vincent open for a three at the top of the key.

On the next two possessions, Dončić toyed with Towns, snaking and rejecting the screens to create an easy layup for himself and a lob for Vanderbilt. The problem on the last play was that Dončić mistook Vanderbilt for Derrick Jones Jr., and what should’ve been a dunk turned into a turnover. Another reminder of how important it is to surround Dončić with athletes.

5-LA has two All-Stars, but neither is a Clipper

This game also came on the night the NBA announced its All-Star reserves. LeBron James was the final name revealed, adding yet another All-Star selection to his record as the league’s oldest player.

Making his 22nd NBA All-Star appearance… LeBron James of the @Lakers.

Drafted as the 1st pick in 2003 out of Akron, Ohio, @KingJames is averaging 21.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 6.6 APG for the Lakers this season.

James was, in a way, a surprising but also not-so-surprising selection, given his stature in the league and among coaches, and the incredible level of play he continues to sustain even at 41 years old. His selection also came with a bit of controversy, as it was seen by some as coming at the expense of Alperen Sengun, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard, who were among the most notable snubs.

I am not your usual NBA conspiracy theorist, but none of the Clippers making the All-Star team, with the game scheduled as part of the promotion around the Intuit Dome, felt like another awkward twist in what has already been a strange season for the other Los Angeles team. A season also marked by the ongoing controversy and the lawsuit in which Steve Ballmer is being sued by 11 investors for allegedly using Aspiration to secretly pay Leonard and circumvent the NBA salary cap.

The Lakers have been a .500 team for months. Austin Reaves is more valuable to the Lakers now than a 41 year old LeBron. They need him back badly, but you would have to be a delusional, biased Lakers homer to think that this team has championship potential. Need to make moves.— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) February 2, 2026

When Reaves comes back our already poor defense will immediately get worse. You hate to take Smart off the floor while he’s healthy & playing well…he’s far exceeded my expectations.

BREAKING: LeBron is officially a 22x NBA All-Star 🤯The ONLY season he wasn’t selected as an All-Star was his rookie season 👑 pic.twitter.com/jQiiedu0Pv— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) February 1, 2026

The Lakers are who they are! 😳LA continues to struggle against good teams as they lost to the New York Knicks 112-100 tonight. @ChandlerParsons doesn't see this team getting much better even with the return of Austin Reaves. pic.twitter.com/gmeFvYPzXy— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) February 2, 2026

Luka Doncic records a 30-point double-double but the Lakers drop to the Knicks at MSG 112–100 😬 pic.twitter.com/UvWUl4Jcih— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 2, 2026

JJ Redick talked about the Lakers' personnel, building around Luka and where he feels they stand leading up to the trade deadline:"We're right there in the playoff chase in the West and I think our guys have been great all season. They've really done a nice job of kind of…— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) February 2, 2026

We held Towns and Brunson to 23, but we let Hart, OG and Shamet get 68.Bron and Luka combined for 52, but Smart, LaRavia, Rui, Vando and Gabe, Hayes and Ayton all combined had 47.Not good enough from the role players tonight.— Richard Staple, BSN, RN🇯🇲 (@RichStapless) February 2, 2026

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.

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