The Science and Art of Building Championship Era Around Luka

Building a championship era around Luka Doncic will take equal doses of science and art: science in assessing what works with Luka and where the league is headed and art in turning that data into a plan to optimize Luka.

So far, the Lakers have done an excellent job moving up in the draft to pick elite defensive wing Adou Thiero and spending their NT MLE for enigmatic starting center De’Andre Ayton and promising small forward Jake LaRavia.
Being able to land 26-year old former #1 pick De’Andre Ayton for $8 million per year not only gives the Lakers a potential massive upside at center but also leaves them with the ability to still pursue additional defensive help.

While Ayton gives them a major upgrade at center, the Lakers still need a starting small forward who’s an elite point-of-attack perimeter defender and a second backup center who can protect the rim and stretch the floor.
The Lakers are prioritizing having three tradable picks next summer so they’re unlikely to trade their one tradable pick this summer, which will make it a hard to acquire the defensive players they so desperately need.

The Lakers’ active roster currently has 15 players: 10 keepers in James, Doncic, Reaves, James Jr, Goodwin, Ayton, LaRavia, Thiero, Hayes, Kleber and 5 to move in Hachimura, Vincent, Vanderbilt, Knecht, and Milton.
The Lakers obviously need a consolidation trade where they move 2 for 1, 3 for 2, or even 4 for 2 or 5 for 3 to remove the excessive dead wood from the roster and make room for a coming wave of minimum and buyout players.

So let’s take a closer look at what works with Luka, where the league is currently headed, and what the Lakers’ master plan should be to build a championship era around 26-year old superstar point guard Luka Doncic.

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WHAT WORKS WITH LUKA?

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The formula for building a championship roster around superstar point guard Luka Doncic is no secret. He needs elite 3-point shooters and vertical lob threats on offense and plus defenders to help cover for him on defense.

The science about what kinds of players with which to surround Luka Doncic is pretty clear. Offensively, he prefers to be surrounded by elite 3-point shooters with a pogo-stick center who’s a lethal vertical lob threat.
Defensively, Luka needs to surrounded by multiple long, athletic, and physical young defenders who possess the speed and quickness to smother opposing teams’ offenses and help cover for his lack of defensive focus.

Being able to sign the enigmatic De’Andre Ayton, 26-year old former #1 pick in the draft, as their starting center for $8 million per year was a gamble that could be a difference-maker as De’Andre could be perfect for Luka.
There’s no question Ayton has the ability to be an elite starting center. He’s proven he’s a durable double-double points and rebounds machine. The question has always been about his effort level and decision making.

While the Lakers would love to add a second backup center who could better protect the rim and stretch the floor than Hayes, their greatest need now is for a two-way 3&D starting small forward to replace Rui Hachimura.
If they’re now keeping their one tradable pick to have three next draft day, the Lakers may have to start Hachimura or hope the Heat will lower their trade price for Andrew Wiggins or the Wizards will buyout Marcus Smart.

At this point, the Lakers have done an excellent job surrounding Luka Doncic with elite 3-point shooters and finding a complementary starting center. They just need to balance roster with a pair of elite wing defenders.

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WHERE IS LEAGUE HEADED?

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The league is undergoing a generational changing of the guard with the traditional powerhouses being replacing by new stars and teams with deep, diverse rosters of long, athletic two-way players who can shoot and defend.

Leading the new wave of defensive powerhouses are the three Texas teams: the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and San Antonio Spurs who are redefining how positional size advantages can dominate in today’s NBA.
A new wave of bigger, longer, faster, quicker, and more physically athletic players is overwhelming the league and changing how the game is played, revving up the speed, quickness, athleticism, and physicality of the game.

The game of basketball is changing right in front of us. The size and skills of the players themselves has shrunken the court and changed the basic geometry of the game of basketball. This is going to be a brand new NBA.
After decades of 3-point shot domination, we may finally be seeing a shift in direction back to an era where increased athleticism and physicality on the defensive end pushes back and changes what it takes to win in the NBA.

There’s been a strong trend towards NBA teams loading up on bigger, longer, faster, and quicker defensive oriented wings as the key components to building efficient modern defenses in today’s wing-driven league.
In many ways, we’re rapidly approaching what could be called a modern era where NBA teams are ultimately striving to build truly positionless starting lineups and 10-man rotations with multiple 6′ 8″ two-way players.

The NBA is on the verge of a dramatic new era where size, length, speed, quickness, athleticism, and physicality become the new measurables as the league gets bigger, longer, faster, quicker, more athletic and physical.

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WHAT IS LAKERS’ MASTER PLAN?

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The Lakers’ master plan is optimize Luke Doncic by surrounding him in short-term with long athletic 3-point shooters who defend their positions and pairing him long-term with a top-5 superstar big man in his prime.

The Lakers essentially have two plans. The goal for this summer and the upcoming midseason trade deadline is move one-way players for two-way players and to continue to surround Luka with size, defense, and shooting.
Right now, the Lakers still have at minimum 5 one-way players whom they need to swap for two-way players, which will be their major objective the rest of this offseason and leading up to the midseason trade deadline.

There’s been mixed messages from the Lakers’ front office as to their plans to replace LeBron James, whom is on an expiring contract and could very likely be playing his final season in purple and gold if not in the NBA. While there’s been talk about a long-term plan to clear cap space for summer of 2027 when Jokic and Antetokounmpo become free agents, the Lakers are also setting themselves up to trade for a second superstar.

The Lakers two-year long-term master plan to add a second superstar focuses on either trading for a second superstar during the summer of 2026 or signing a max contract free agent superstar during the summer of 2027.
By holding onto their one tradable first round pick, the Lakers will be able to offer their 2026, 2031, and 2033 first round picks and their 2028, 2030, and 2032 pick swaps next summer. That’s a total of 6 first round draft picks.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ master plan is to surround Luka Doncic with complementary elite shooters and defenders in the short term and to pair him with a second superstar forward or center in the long term.