Anonymous NBA Scout: Here’s What Will Give the Lakers ‘Trouble’ This Season

Editor’s Note: For the upcoming Sports Illustrated 2026–27 basketball preview magazine that will hit newsstands in October, SI spoke to anonymous scouts around the NBA about all 30 teams.

After one of the more dramatic offseasons across the NBA, the Lakers will officially turn the page from the franchise’s LeBron James era that spanned eight seasons and included one championship.

Now, the keys to the franchise are in the hands of Luka Dončić, who signed a long-term extension last summer and led the NBA in scoring in his first full season in Los Angeles.

Coming off an injury-riddled 53-win season that ended in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, James packed his bags for Philadelphia, and the Lakers pivoted by building a complementary roster around Dončić. Austin Reaves inked a four-year, $184.8 million (his maximum) contract extension with Los Angeles, while Rob Pelinka traded for Jazz big man Walker Kessler to give his star a superior lob threat.

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This season, Dončić will continue to score in bunches, and he has a nice complement of bucket-getters around him. But is that enough to minimize the defensive concerns that plagued the team last season? That’s the big question.

”I think the Lakers are going to be in trouble defensively,” an anonymous NBA scout told Sports Illustrated. “Kessler is known for shot blocking, or I guess he's known for his defense, but really he's a good shot blocker. He's not, I don't think, a great all-around defender. But he can protect the rim. So I guess step one is not to give up layups. I’ll be curious to see how he does.

”The Jazz always wanted him to be a Rudy Gobert-type where literally every shot at the rim he should take personally no matter where he is on the court. And that never really materialized. But he was good when it was in his lane, whether he was pick-and-rolled or in drop coverage. If he was the low man and help defender, he was pretty good at protecting the rim but never doing anything extra, per se. He is going to help them on the glass defensively. But looking at their roster, they're going to need some help defensively.”

At the very least, though, Kessler is a 7'2" huge body that’s a strong last line of defense. He missed the great majority of his last season in Utah due to a torn labrum, but he averaged at least 2.3 blocks per game in each of his first three NBA seasons. Much better than what Deandre Ayton—the Lakers’ starting center last season—can give you. Even if Kessler takes a step forward elsewhere as a defender, though, L.A.’s score-first backcourt comes with plenty of concern on the defensive side of the ball.

“Offensively, Luka and Reaves are great. But which one of them is going to guard?“ an NBA scout told SI. ”That answer is obvious. It has to be Reaves because Luka's not going to. So does guarding the best player take a toll on Reaves, or do they find someone else that will be able to guard that best guy who’s capable of it? I don't know.

“But I feel like offensively there's enough to go around, especially when you start subbing and getting guys out of the game. I'm sure Reaves will get plenty of touches. And with the amount of attention on Luka and his ISOs in screening, there are going to be times where the ball is swinging around to Reaves, and he'll be able to attack closeouts and do what he does best.

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”I'm guessing they're thinking Jarred Vanderbilt's going to be one of their top defensive guys. That’s kind of it, though. I'm a big fan of Mamukelashvili but he's only guarding a certain type of person. He's not guarding the bulk of the guys in the NBA that you're going to have to require a stopper for.”

Worst case, that means that the Lakers will have to win high-scoring games. The lead duo of Dončić and Reaves is one of, if not the most high-powered scoring backcourts across the NBA. That’s a reasonable recipe for success, as long as the pair can stay healthy.

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”Maybe the Lakers are just going to try and score more than everyone,” the scout said, “but they're going to have to at least get up into the body and hope that Walker can be that kind of rim protector that they just funnel everything to.”

However it plays out, it will be fascinating to watch as the James era in L.A. is officially over and Dončić takes over with a roster built to give him as many weapons as possible.

Offseason recap

Walker Kessler was the Lakers’ prized addition over the offseason | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Who’s in: Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Sandro

Mamukelashvili, Jaden Hardy, Kevon Looney, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Cameron Carr

Who’s out: LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Deandre Ayton, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart

The standout move from the offseason was Pelinka’s play to pry Kessler away from Utah through a sign-and-trade. The former Jazz big man got a four-year, $129.5 million contract as L.A.’s new center, while the Lakers gave up two unprotected future first-round picks and two pick swaps. A massive commitment and trade package, but it was the price the Lakers had to pay to get their guy.

Kessler is the headliner of a busy offseason, while Grimes and Sexton step in as key players to replace tertiary scoring and shooting the Lakers had with Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard. Mamukelashvili adds size next to Kessler as a high-level role player, who the Lakers committed to with a four-year, $52 million deal—a nice value for both sides.

Thybulle, who signed on a veteran minimum deal, brings his defense off the bench, joined by other new reserves in Looney, Hardy and Ziaire Williams. Cameron Carr, the 24th pick in the draft out of Baylor, is a solid shooter that could help the Lakers’ hole with Kennard now in Phoenix, depending on how ready Carr is to contribute.

SI’s prediction for the 2026–27 Lakers

Record: 49–33

The Lakers have won 50 games in two straight seasons and have made the playoffs in six of the past seven years. Everything changed over the offseason with James’s departure, but the front office made use of the money cleared without his massive salary on the books. With Dončić at the center of the operation, Reaves getting his payday and the big contract for Kessler, the next iteration of the Lakers is locked in for the foreseeable future. L.A.’s new-look team should be good; its scoring power is too considerable.

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However, every team in the West must figure out how to topple the Thunder and the Spurs and, as is, this Lakers roster does not appear capable of that. Especially as the new group needs time to gel. Luka is one of the NBA’s premier scorers, though, which makes this Lakers team a bona fide playoff squad before you even consider the rest of the roster.

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