The LA Lakers pulled off an earth-shattering move of bringing in Luka Doncic from the Mavericks just before the trade deadline. The inclusion of Doncic has severely improved the Lakers' attack, and as stalwart LeBron James is already present in the squad, one could assert with confidence that the side could outscore any team in the world. Despite landing Doncic in the squad, Rob Pelinka is making moves to fill the loose ends and this week the franchise cracked the deal to sign Center Alex Len from Sacramento. With all the willingness to bring on board the right recruits and splurge heavily on them, the Lakers would still not be able to get their hands around the prestigious Larry O'Brien trophy this year, as per the former NBA champions Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
Speaking on the "All The Smoke" podcast, Barnes and Jackson paid heed to the Lakers' woes and stated that Williams would have been a welcome addition to the team, had the Charlotte Hornets not rescinded the trade.
“Adding a Mark Williams, who is a lob threat, nearly a double-double guy. A young kid too. Could have really set them up for him to play his role and for this team to achieve what they need to achieve,” Barnes said.
Barnes mentioned that the Lakers "don't have money" to get more of the big guys- noting that Jaxson Hayes isn't experienced enough to help the team win in the playoffs. He then asked Jackson whether the team should make a play for JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard to bring more depth. Jackson agreed that McGee and Howard are available in the buyout market, but believes that no player can help the Lakers win it all this year.
“I mean Javale or Dwight Howard are the only people I can think of but regardless what they do they ain’t gonna win it this year in my opinion,” Jackson stated.