The Los Angeles Lakers are now younger and more athletic, as Rob Pelinka made a major overhaul with eight new additions. The Purple and Gold franchise is actively trying to build a “Dallas 2.0.” But a former NBA champion states a playoff run for the new-looking Luka Doncic team feels unlikely.
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“Make a playoff run? No,” Channing Frye answered a fan’s question on the Road Trippin’ Show. “They can make the playoffs, but no. I don’t like the way that team is built at all. And maybe something happens, but no, they’re going to lose to a team like Denver, Minnesota, OKC, or Houston. I even got Phoenix, right there, Utah. I mean, do I even have to say, San Antonio?”
The front office is aiming to replicate the balanced, high-spacing, and defensive-minded archetype of the 2024 Dallas Mavericks team that reached the NBA Finals. Los Angeles has focused on acquiring athletic, versatile frontcourt pieces and 3-and-D wings to protect Luka Doncic on defense and finish plays in the paint. But Frye questioned the rebuilding.
“I think they need to relook at what they had in Dallas, like an athlete at center, a prime athlete at forward, a prime athlete defender at three, a prime athlete shooter at two, and then him. Like he (Luka Doncic) needs to be surrounded by defensive athletes, guys that could get out and play, make their own plays. This team feels very ‘ploppy’ and very half-court-set.
“This doesn’t seem like a team that’s going to get out and just run. But maybe that’s not what Luca wants to do anymore. I felt like the other team definitely wanted to get out, run, be athletic, and then when things got down in the half court, they would just go to Luka, where this team seems like they want to live in the half court.”
Frye argued that a “ploppy” team relies heavily on slow-paced half-court play and lacks the lateral quickness necessary to effectively guard fast, athletic wing players from elite Western Conference teams like Oklahoma City or San Antonio.
The roster construction does not resemble the formula that allowed Luka to reach the 2024 NBA Finals with Dallas. The 2024 Mavericks were built around putting Luka and Kyrie at the center of the offense, then surrounding them with size, athleticism, defense, and vertical threats.
Dallas had both Lively and Gafford as athletic centers who could run the floor, catch lobs, and protect the rim. P.J. Washington gave them a bigger forward who could defend and hit threes, while Derrick Jones Jr. provided elite athleticism and perimeter defense.
Luka Doncic needed players who could cover his weaknesses and maximize his strengths. It’s not the only time Frye criticized the Lakers’ rebuild.
“They don’t address anything that the Lakers actually need other than bodies,” Frye said ten days ago on the Road Trippin Show. “They need athleticism, grit, grind… Walker Kessler is not better than Donovan Clingan.”
Currently, the Lakers have yet to sign a starting forward and have been linked with Jonathan Kuminga. If JK or any other player signs and the chemistry kicks off, Luka Doncic might have a chance at another Finals run.
