Jason Burgos
A new report suggests the Los Angeles Lakers could land the center Luka Doncic has wanted by way of a separate blockbuster trade that could go down this month.
Despite their playoff run being derailed by a Doncic hamstring injury, the 2025-26 NBA season was a productive one for the Lakers. After some midseason struggles, LA was one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the last couple of months of the season. It offers reason to expect an even better year in 2026-27.
However, according to Heavy’s Sean Deveney, “Word is that the Lakers like a lot of the players they have on hand, and rather than making sweeping changes to the roster, could instead bring back a lot of last season’s players.”
Should the LA Lakers target a Kel’el Ware trade this summer?
The report would suggest the team won’t make a major move this offseason. However, there is still a chance they could. But a bigger deal has to happen first. Recent reporting points to the Milwaukee Bucks trading Giannis Antetokounmpo before this month’s NBA Draft. And the Miami Heat are seen as a favorite to get a deal done.
If that trade does happen in the next couple of weeks, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes the Lakers should go after a talented young player who is expected to be included in the deal by the Heat.
“If I were the Lakers and Kel’el Ware got shipped to Milwaukee, I would be on the phone because Kel’el Ware’s package of talent is not that different from Dereck Lively,” he said in a new edition of the Hoop Collective.
Ware is the sort of rim-running lob threat Doncic has wanted since he landed in Los Angeles last year. Ware can also stretch the floor after shooting 39% from three last season and could be a 15 and 15 double-double machine if given starter’s minutes.
