The Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up their NBA season in disappointing fashion, falling well short of the championship expectations that came with the blockbuster acquisition of Luka Doncic. Touted as instant contenders following the trade, the team instead unraveled down the stretch, prompting Lakers legend James Worthy to weigh in on what went wrong.
“When we did not get Mark Williams in that trade, I knew we could be successful throughout the regular season,” Worthy said on Spectrum SportsNet. “But as you know, and as we’ve seen, once you get locked into a seven-game series — look at what happened to Cleveland — things change. A lot of teams that are favored don’t always pull through. I still don’t think the synergy was ever fully there with Luka. A lot of elements were missing.”
The front office made it clear they had no intention of breaking up the LeBron James–Anthony Davis core—until Doncic became available. But since bringing in the Slovenian star, the Lakers have struggled to form a cohesive unit around their new trio. The chemistry never fully clicked, and that instability showed in the NBA postseason.
Worthy also revisited one of the most pivotal missteps following the Doncic trade—the failed pursuit of Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams. The Lakers backed out of a deal that would’ve addressed their glaring frontcourt weakness, a decision that left them without a true starting center during the final stretch. The void proved costly in key matchups.
“The bigs went away for a while, until they revolutionized themselves,” Worthy said. “Now you’ve got Jokic and other centers shooting threes. Brook Lopez was almost out of the league before he learned to shoot from deep. So, yes, the center position is huge now—especially defensively. Look at what Minnesota has done with Gobert. Not a major scorer, but a dominant rim protector. It’s guys like Bam [Adebayo], [Jarrett] Allen, [Evan] Mobley—athletic bigs who can run the floor and protect the paint.”
The Lakers, meanwhile, ran into a Timberwolves team that had continuity and chemistry on their side. Minnesota’s core has been together longer and it showed, with crisp execution and a defensive identity that overwhelmed L.A. in their brief postseason run.
By contrast, the Lakers were a team in transition. As Worthy emphasized, the lack of cohesion and synergy was evident. The roster underwent a major shakeup to accommodate Doncic, and although LeBron and Davis remained, the supporting cast was still adapting—leaving the team vulnerable against more established playoff squads.
Heading into the offseason, the Lakers are expected to retool once again. The priority will be building a system that leverages both LeBron and Doncic’s unique playmaking abilities, while also finding the right balance with rising contributor Austin Reaves. For now, the experiment remains a work in progress, with no guarantees of immediate success.