The Los Angeles Lakers fanbase expects the team to be an NBA Championship contender each season that they play in the league.
Evidently, the said fans were incredibly disappointed following the LA Lakers‘ first-round exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Even more so since they traded for superstar Luka Doncic in exchange for Anthony Davis in the middle of the season. However, the biggest reason behind the defeat was the Lakers not having a quality center.
But what if the Lakers never traded for Doncic? Would that mean they would have stuck to the vetoed Mark Williams trade with the Charlotte Hornets?
Photo by David Jensen/Getty ImagesLA Lakers would have vetoed the Mark Williams trade even if they never acquired Luka Doncic, claims insider
On a recent episode of the Buha’s Block, LA Lakers insider Jovan Buha discussed an interesting hypothetical scenario for the 2024-25 NBA season.
One where Doncic wasn’t traded to the team and the implications of it on the rescinded trade between the Lakers and Hornets involving Williams.
“I think they end up doing the Mark Williams trade again and rescinding it again,” Buha said. “… Actually, I have them trading for a center, not quite sure who, but I tentatively put down Mark Williams. There’s no reason why you couldn’t have done the trade again.”
Let’s not forget that the primary reason behind the Lakers being linked to several teams for a center around the NBA Trade Deadline was to fulfill Davis’ wish to play as a power forward again.
So, if the AD-Doncic trade never happens, it’s not far-fetched to believe the Lakers would still have traded for Williams.
Even if they hadn’t traded for Williams, they could have targeted someone like Daniel Gafford to be the team’s starting center. Thus, allowing Davis to move to his natural position of power forward.
Jovan Buha on the LA Lakers’ potential roster if they hadn’t traded for Luka Doncic
Getting Doncic is undoubtedly the best outcome possible for the Lakers in terms of the franchise’s future.
But returning to the hypothetical scenario where the shocking move never happened, Buha also presented his thoughts on how the Lakers’ roster and rotations would have changed.
Buha assumed the starting lineup would have featured Davis, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Max Christie, and a center.
“The Lakers probably would have traded for a center and then you move Rui [Hachimura] to the bench. Now your bench is Rui, DFS [Dorian Finney-Smith], Gabe [Vincent], and Vando [Jarred Vanderbilt].
“That’s probably your nine-man rotation. In this hypothetical, I don’t know if Jordan Goodwin ever pops.”
Would this rotation be more balanced than what the Lakers entered the 2025 NBA Playoffs with? Yes. Would the Lakers have advanced further than the first round? There’s no way to tell.