The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2025 NBA Playoffs with high hopes, boasting a roster led by LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and a mix of veteran and young talent. However, their early exit—once again—exposed a recurring flaw that has defined the franchise’s struggles over the past decade: poor roster construction and mismanagement of assets. From ill-fated trades to questionable signings and missed draft opportunities, the Lakers’ front office has repeatedly failed to build a cohesive, sustainable team around their superstars. This article delves into the roots of this mistake, its manifestation in the 2025 playoffs, and the lessons the Lakers must learn to reclaim their championship glory.
The Original Sin: The 2019 Trade for Anthony Davis
The Lakers’ troubles can be traced back to the blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis in 2019. While Davis has been a transformative player and a cornerstone of the 2020 championship team, the cost of acquiring him was staggering. The Lakers parted with young talents like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, and multiple first-round picks, gutting their depth and future flexibility.
Why It Hurt: The trade left the Lakers with a top-heavy roster overly reliant on LeBron and Davis staying healthy. The lack of depth became glaring in subsequent seasons, as injuries to either star derailed the team’s playoff hopes.
Long-Term Impact: The traded picks and swaps limited the Lakers’ ability to acquire talent through the draft or use them as trade assets, forcing them to rely on free agency and minimum contracts to fill out the roster.
This trade set the tone for a decade of reactive, short-term roster moves that prioritized immediate star power over long-term stability.
The Westbrook Debacle: A Misstep That Echoes
If the Davis trade was a calculated risk, the 2021 acquisition of Russell Westbrook was a catastrophic blunder. The Lakers traded Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and a first-round pick for Westbrook, whose ball-dominant style clashed with LeBron’s playmaking and Davis’s interior dominance.
Why It Failed: Westbrook’s poor fit was evident from the start. His inefficient shooting and high turnover rate disrupted the Lakers’ offense, while his defensive lapses compounded the team’s vulnerabilities.
Playoff Consequences: The Westbrook experiment led to a disastrous 2021-22 season, where the Lakers missed the playoffs entirely. The ripple effects lingered, as the Lakers struggled to recover the assets lost in the trade.
The Westbrook trade epitomized the Lakers’ tendency to chase big names without considering fit, a mistake that resurfaced in the 2025 playoffs.
Draft Misses and Development Failures
The Lakers’ draft record over the past decade has been equally troubling. While they’ve had some hits—like drafting Max Christie in 2022—their overall draft strategy has been hampered by traded picks and a lack of focus on developing young talent.
Missed Opportunities: The Lakers traded away picks that became valuable players for other teams, such as Jalen Hood-Schifino (traded in 2023) and future selections tied to the Davis deal.
Development Woes: Young players like Talen Horton-Tucker and Moritz Wagner were either traded too soon or underdeveloped, leaving the Lakers without cost-controlled contributors to balance their high-salary stars.
In the 2025 playoffs, the Lakers’ lack of homegrown talent was stark. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies, built through savvy drafting, exposed the Lakers’ thin bench and overreliance on aging veterans.
The 2025 Playoffs: History Repeats Itself
In the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers faced a familiar foe: roster imbalance. Despite a strong regular season, their playoff run was derailed by a lack of depth, poor shooting, and defensive inconsistencies—issues directly tied to their decade-long roster mismanagement.
Key Matchup: In their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers struggled to match Denver’s depth. While LeBron and Davis performed admirably, the supporting cast—comprised of aging role players and unproven youngsters—faltered.
Statistical Evidence: The Lakers ranked 22nd in bench scoring during the playoffs (28.4 PPG) and 18th in three-point shooting (33.7%), highlighting their lack of reliable ế
Specific Game Changer: In Game 5, the Lakers’ bench was outscored 42-19 by Denver’s reserves, with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić exploiting the Lakers’ lack of defensive versatility.
The Lakers’ inability to address these weaknesses, despite years of similar playoff exits, underscores the front office’s failure to learn from past mistakes.
Why the Mistake Persists
Several factors have perpetuated the Lakers’ roster mismanagement:
Pressure to Win Now: The Lakers’ storied history and massive fanbase create immense pressure to compete immediately, leading to short-sighted decisions like the Westbrook trade.
Overreliance on Star Power: The Lakers have leaned heavily on LeBron and Davis, neglecting the importance of a balanced roster with shooters, defenders, and playmakers.
Front Office Instability: Frequent changes in leadership—Rob Pelinka has faced criticism for inconsistent decision-making—have led to a lack of cohesive vision.
Financial Constraints: High-salary contracts for LeBron, Davis, and others have limited the Lakers’ cap space, forcing them to rely on minimum deals and trades that often backfire.
These systemic issues have created a cycle where the Lakers patch holes with temporary fixes rather than building a sustainable roster.
Lessons for the Future
To break this cycle, the Lakers must adopt a new approach:
Prioritize Fit Over Flash: Future acquisitions should focus on players who complement LeBron and Davis, such as 3-and-D wings and versatile bigs.
Rebuild Draft Capital: The Lakers should avoid trading future picks and focus on drafting and developing young talent to provide cost-controlled depth.
Invest in Analytics: Modern NBA teams rely on data-driven decisions. The Lakers must bolster their analytics department to identify undervalued players and optimal lineups.
Plan for the Post-LeBron Era: With LeBron nearing the end of his career, the Lakers must prepare for a transition, building around Davis and a new core of young players.
Conclusion
The Lakers’ biggest mistake of the last decade—poor roster construction and asset mismanagement—has haunted them in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, just as it did in previous years. From the costly Davis trade to the Westbrook fiasco and a lackluster draft record, the franchise has repeatedly failed to build a balanced, sustainable team. The 2025 playoff exit, marked by familiar issues like bench struggles and defensive lapses, serves as a stark reminder of these shortcomings. For the Lakers to return to championship contention, they must learn from their past, prioritize fit and depth, and plan for the future. Until then, the ghosts of their biggest mistake will continue to loom large.