Hey there, Last Night In Basketballers — I am, as I do every year, re-appropriating the Three Things I Noticed on League Pass format to preview the upcoming season. Instead of three things I noticed, it’ll be something more along the lines of three things I’m looking forward to, interested in, or want to see. Some of them might be narrative-based, some might be stats, and some might include video. But they'll all be focused on the 2026-27 campaign.
The schedule for those posts will be as follows (podcasts previewing each division with Mo Dakhil are in parentheses):
- Atlantic Division (BOS, BKN, NYK, PHI, TOR) (Podcast)
- Central Division (CHI, CLE, DET, IND, MIL) (Podcast)
- Southeast Division (ATL, CHA, MIA, ORL, WAS) (Podcast)
- Pacific Division (GSW, LAC, LAL, PHX, SAC) (Podcast)
- Northwest Division (DEN, MIN, OKC, POR, UTA) (Podcast)
- Southwest Division (DAL, HOU, MEM, NOP, SAS) (Podcast)
So without further ado, let's get to the Los Angeles Lakers, who went on a major spending spree to reshape their roster this summer.
Luka Doncic, centered
It took a couple of years, but the Lakers have turned themselves fully into a Luka Doncic Team. The timing was expected. Transitioning into being Luka's Team was never going to happen so long as LeBron James was on the roster, and this was the summer that he was going to leave, if that was going to happen.
The Lakers' spending spree seemed designed to maximize what Doncic wants to do with an offense. They got him a rim-rolling center (maybe; more on that in a second), a couple of shooters who can also attack closeouts from the weak side and either score or keep the line moving, and another secondary ball-handler off the bench.
Doncic has always been at his best when allowed to run the entire offense from the top of the floor, with a rim-rolling center as a pick-and-roll partner and shooters dotting the arc surrounding that action. The Lakers could only theoretically play that way since his arrival in Los Angeles; they should actually be able to play that way now, depending on how they configure their lineups.
I'm interested to see whether Walker Kessler is actually a good dive man. We really don't know yet. Here's an excerpt of what I wrote in the free agency live blog:
The pick-and-roll efficiency numbers for Kessler during his career aren't great, largely because he's never played with a guard who was a high-level orchestrator. The best he's worked with is an injured pre-trade Mike Conley, Keyonte George before he actually got good, Isaiah Collier, and [Collin] Sexton. Playing with Doncic and [Austin] Reaves will be a significant change, and given his ability to set screens (he's made contact on picks at the 10th-highest rate among the 73 players who have set 2,500 or more since he entered the league, per GeniusIQ tracking) and finish at the basket, he should generate much more efficient offense in pick and rolls than what we've seen to date in his career. Of course, that's largely going to be due to the proficiency of his partners rather than anything specific that he brings to the table.
Luka has turned most centers he's played with into effective rim-rollers. He's that good at orchestrating an offense, and at maximizing the skill set of the guy setting the screens for him. And he's raised the level of efficiency of most shooters he's played with throughout his career as well. The genius-level passers like him (and LeBron, and Nikola Jokic, etc.) tend to do that. So guys like Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili, whom the Lakers also signed this offseason, should be able to snipe away from three.
I expect the Lakers to at least push for a top-five offense if Doncic and Reaves stay healthy. Luka's teams have ranked 1st, 9th, 15th, 6th, 10th, and 9th in offensive rating in the non-rookie seasons where he played more than 50 games. That's an average of a top-eight offense in any given year, with upside for more. (And I think J.J. Redick is a more creative offensive coach than Jason Kidd, which adds to the upside.) Cracking the top five is really difficult, obviously, but the infrastructure is there for Luka to do his thing, his way, and that typically yields very good results.