James Worthy links the withdrawn trade that the Los Angeles Lakers have made with the issue of Luka Donsick.
The 2024-25 NBA season will be remembered forever as the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Lukadon Sic in a shocking move with the Dallas Mavericks.
As far as regular season goes, the Lakers have improved significantly. After all, they set the third seed in the loaded Western Conference.
But coming in playoff time, the Lakers were eliminated in just five games by the Minnesota Timber Wolves in the first round.
Despite being the third-best regular-season team in the West, Purple and Gold took part in the 2025 NBA playoffs, with obvious flaws in the center position.
Many believe that when they traded for Mark Williams of the Charlotte Hornets, the organization almost resolved that flaw. However, the deal was cancelled before Williams played a single game for his team.
Franchise legend James Worthy recently spoke about Williams’ failures and his impact on the team.
“It was sad and disappointing, and deep down inside me, when we didn’t get Mark Williams in that deal, we knew we could be successful all the way through the regular season,” Worthy said.
He also strengthened his point by citing the Cleveland Cavaliers example.
“But as you know, and as you’ve seen, when you come with a team in seven games, what happened in Cleveland, a lot of your favorite teams don’t always happen,” Worthy added.
Donsic had a regular season roller coaster. Because he was essentially backstabbed by the Mavericks after showing only loyalty to the franchise.
As good as Doncic, I believe playoff time will come. The 5xNBA All-Star was not yet on the same page as the other rosters.
“I don’t think the synergy is finished with Luka yet. There wasn’t much, so it’s hard to tell that we couldn’t move forward after reaching the third seed,” continued Value.
“But that can be done easily in the regular season. The playoffs are where it is,” he concluded.
Because it’s worth it, the long offseason allows Don Sic and the other Lakers to ultimately complete their synergy.
If general manager Rob Perinka can win a talented center on the roster, it’s no surprise that Purple and Gold will go a long way to bring Championship No. 18 to the Crypto.com Arena.