Lakers Legend James Worthy Reveals What Luka Doncic Needs Most

The Hall of Famer believes the Los Angeles Lakers are missing a few critical pieces if it hopes to maximize Luka Doncic's championship window.

Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) gestures during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers have their work cut out for them heading into the NBA offseason, with the storied franchise needing to figure out a way to build around superstar guard Luka Doncic in order to compete with Western Conference heavyweights like Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs and the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led Oklahoma City Thunder.

That will be no easy task, but under Mark Walter's new ownership, the franchise might be willing to take more risks and spend more money than it usually does during the summer.

With the offseason underway for Los Angeles, Lakers legend James Worthy spoke with Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports and shared his thoughts on what the team should prioritize when building a roster around Doncic moving forward.

James Worthy: Prioritize Shooters & Defensive-Minded Big Around Luka Doncic

James Worthy breaks down to @KevinOConnor on how the Lakers should build around Luka Doncic ✍️

(via The Kevin O'Connor Show) pic.twitter.com/M2gezHuaW3

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 3, 2026

“Shooters, particularly those who can hit the three consistently,” Worthy said. “Guys who can defend and not necessarily hide him in the defense, but take some pressure off of him. They need a big who can protect the paint and also receive lobs and be a force defensively. They need players that surround him who can also create, they need an Austin Reaves. LeBron [James] was able to do it at 41 and take some pressure off of Luka when they started to blitz him.”

Even though the Lakers will be armed with a considerable amount of cap space heading into NBA free agency this summer (July 1), the options for roster upgrades are thin, to say the least.

However, the team seems intent on being aggressive in their efforts to improve the roster, whether it’s with trades, as they are rumored to have interest in trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo or with restricted free agents like Peyton Watson, Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler.

Watson and either Duren or Kessler check the boxes that Worthy is talking about, but it remains to be seen if they are realistic options. The Lakers will have to hope they can send an offer sheet to players whose current teams won’t want to match it, which might be doubtful for each player mentioned.

However, there’s a chance the Detroit Pistons are only willing to go so high on Duren after a disappointing performance in the NBA playoffs. The same can be said about Watson, with the Denver Nuggets needing to make some tough roster decisions to keep the talented 3-and-D wing, and as for Kessler, it’s uncertain what the Utah Jazz plans to do.

It’ll be interesting to see how it all pans out and what the Lakers’ roster will look like when it is all said and done ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season.

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