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The Lakers seemingly emerged as the winner of the trade that sent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles in exchange for Anthony Davis, but they ended up losing their first-round playoff showdown with the Timberwolves. Minnesota took advantage of the lack of size their opponents were dealing with, and LeBron James sent a message to the front office after his season came to an end.
The Lakers were well on their way to making the playoffs when they pulled the trigger on one of the most shocking trades in NBA history to acquire Luka Doncic from the Mavericks. The team went 19-13 after he made his debut en route to securing the third seed in the Western Conference and earning the right to face off against the Timberwolves in the first round of the postseason.
However, Minnesota managed to pull off the upset and punched its ticket to the second round in five games with a 103-96 victory on Wednesday that will lead to plenty of soul-searching in Los Angeles during the offseason.
It was a team effort for a Timberwolves squad that got some stellar performances from Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert was the star of the show in the series-clinching game where he had 27 points and 24 rebounds in a contest that saw Minnesota earn a 54-37 edge on the boards.
Most Lakers fans were more than fine with losing Anthony Davis to the Mavericks if it meant their team got Doncic in return, but the loss highlighted a key issue Los Angeles was already grappling with when it pulled the trigger: the absence of a true center that AD reportedly lobbied for before he was shipped off to Dallas—a size issue that was exacerbated by his departure.
It sure seems like LeBron James agrees with that assessment based on what he had to say after the game when a reporter asked him if he thinks that’s a void that needs to be addressed, as he sent a message to the powers that be in Los Angeles by replying, “No comment—I never say that—because my guy AD said what he needed, and then he was gone the following week.”
Lebron on playing centerless basketball and whether it was tough for him:
“No comment. My guy AD said what he needed, and then he was gone the following week” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/tTYeHQ3hy8
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) May 1, 2025
Something tells me the Lakers will attempt to address that concern by the time the next campaign gets underway.