Luka Doncic is playing like the best player on the planet right now, and that’s exactly why the Los Angeles Lakers can’t afford to stand still. The Slovenian superstar has opened the season with scoring and playmaking numbers that border on historic, lifting the Lakers to an early winning record and reigniting championship hopes across the city. But his brilliance has also thrown a harsh spotlight on the roster around him—and the front office is feeling the heat.
According to NBA insider Jovan Buha, the pressure is real. In a recent report, Buha placed a 65 percent probability on the Lakers making a trade before this season’s deadline. That number isn’t an official league metric—it’s his own read of the situation after talking to league sources and watching how the team has been built. But the message is clear: with Doncic playing at an MVP level, doing nothing would be a massive organizational failure.
Why the Lakers can’t wait
Doncic’s start has been nothing short of spectacular. He’s putting up numbers that put him in the conversation with the greatest offensive seasons in NBA history, and he’s doing it while making his teammates better. But even his brilliance can’t hide the structural issues in the rotation. The Lakers are thin in the frontcourt, and they lack a reliable defensive wing who can guard multiple positions and knock down open threes.
Those two needs—a backup center and a two-way wing—are exactly what insiders say the front office is targeting. The backup five is the most urgent, because it protects the team when the starters rest and keeps the rebounding and rim protection from falling off a cliff. The wing is more of a long-term piece, but it’s just as critical for playoff matchups, especially in the fourth quarter when Doncic needs shooters around him and defenders who can switch everything.
Buha didn’t mince words about the stakes. “If they don’t surround Luka with championship-caliber talent while he’s playing like this, they’re going to get crushed in the media and by their own fans,” he said. That’s not hyperbole—it’s the reality of playing in Los Angeles, where the spotlight is always on and patience is in short supply.
Timing and trade targets
The NBA calendar gives the Lakers two clear windows to make a move. The first opens in mid-December, when players signed during the summer become trade-eligible. That’s when the trade market typically starts to heat up. The second, and more important, is the February deadline, when contenders usually make their final push.
Names like P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones Jr.—both former Doncic teammates in Dallas—have been floated in media projections as realistic targets. Washington brings size and shooting from the forward spot, while Jones is a proven perimeter defender who can guard the other team’s best scorer. Either would fit nicely next to Doncic, and both would address the Lakers’ most obvious weaknesses.
But the front office can’t just snap its fingers. Trades require assets, and the Lakers have limited draft capital and young players to offer. Still, the pressure is mounting, and Buha’s 65 percent projection suggests the organization knows it has to act. The question is whether they’ll be bold enough to pull the trigger before the deadline.
For Latino fans who’ve followed Doncic since his days in Madrid with Real Madrid, this feels like a familiar story. He’s always been the kind of player who makes everyone around him better, but he can’t do it alone. The Lakers need to give him help, and they need to do it soon. If they don’t, they’ll waste a season of one of the greatest players in the world—and that’s a mistake no amount of star power can fix.
