Lakers finally crack Mavericks' secret formula to winning with Luka Doncic

Just over one year into the Luka Doncic era in Los Angeles, the Lakers haven't put a good enough team around him. As a result of this, they're trying to copy the Dallas Mavericks' blueprint for success that ultimately helped them reach the 2024 NBA Finals with Doncic at the head of the snake.

Dallas cracked the code on building a contender around Doncic toward the back half of his Mavericks career, and according to recent rumors, the Lakers are trying to do the same thing beginning this offseason.

Lakers want to turn Los Angeles into 'Dallas 2.0'

According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, Los Angeles wants to build "Dallas 2.0" around Luka Doncic.

This means bringing in more 3-and-D wings, finding a center who fits better alongside Doncic than Deandre Ayton, and building around their offensive-minded backcourt of Doncic and Austin Reaves. Keep in mind, the Mavericks succeeded with Doncic and Kyrie Irving as their star-studded backcourt despite their defensive limitations, and the Lakers believe that they can do the same thing.

While this is a good plan for the Lakers, it took them way too long to figure this out. Their roster was never going to be good enough this season to contend, and not competing for titles when Luka Doncic is your best player should be illegal in all 50 states.

The Lakers can't compete for the NBA Finals this year

As things stand, the Lakers are the fifth-best team in the Western Conference with a 39-25 record. They've won two games in a row against the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, but their hopes of making an NBA Finals run are not very bright.

Even with Luka Doncic's unreal ability to make everyone around him better, they don't have the talent or the right-fitting pieces to become a juggernaut in the West. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and even the Denver Nuggets are a tier above Los Angeles, and this year may be another gap year for them.

The Lakers are quietly better with LeBron James out of the lineup, and this summer will give them the chance to replicate the type of roster that the Mavericks put around Doncic.

How the Lakers can copy the Mavericks' blueprint down low

Reaves and Doncic are their centerpieces, and as Mannix said, they want to add wings who are similar to P.J. Washington or Dorian Finney-Smith, and bigs who can play the role that Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford played in Dallas with Doncic.

The Ayton-Doncic fit isn't going to work if Ayton isn't ready to accept a less marquee role, and they need to find someone who will happily embrace being a rim roller and rim protector. Doncic made both Lively II and Gafford look like two of the best bigs in the West when he was playing with them, and he could do the same thing once again if the Lakers address this need correctly.

He thrives with centers who are elite play finishers, and finding more of these players needs to be one of Los Angeles' top priorities this summer.

Luka Doncic thrives with dirty-work wings

Now onto the Lakers' issues on the wing.

There's no way that they thought Marcus Smart, Jake Laravia, and Rui Hachimura were enough to contend for the NBA Finals. Each of these players has their gifts, but they aren't all the types of wings that Doncic has had proven success with.

In Dallas, Doncic thrived with Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock in 2022, and then with Derrick Jones Jr. and P.J. Washington in 2024. The Mavericks wouldn't have made deep playoff runs in both of those seasons without their play on the perimeter, and each of them played their role to a tee.

They knew exactly what Jason Kidd needed out of them, and Doncic's on-ball gravity helped open up plenty of open looks for them. You typically knew what you were going to get out of each of these players on a night-to-night basis in the postseason, and they would all have an occasional big game as well.

All four players were dirty-work wings who fit perfectly around Doncic. They all took on the toughest defensive assignments, knocked down open shots, and brought an edge that helped them become a feared team in the NBA Playoffs.

The Mavericks walked so the Lakers can run

These Luka Doncic-led teams brought grit, toughness, and togetherness, and they succeeded because Doncic brought the best out of everyone around him. It also helped that he had excellent shot creators around him, with Jalen Brunson in 2022 and Kyrie Irving in 2024.

Pairing Doncic with one elite backcourt partner, strong 3-and-D wings, and lob-threat centers has proven to be successful in the past, and now it's up to the Lakers to do it.

Unfortunately for Mavericks fans, they're being forced to watch from the shadows, as Los Angeles is just now finding out the correct way to build a roster around Doncic. Dallas knew how to do it, and did it multiple times, and fans may never have the closure they want with the Slovenian superstar.