Lakers ignored Luka Doncic's straightforward roster request, per report

For the most part, the Los Angeles Lakers have done a good job of staying on Luka Doncic’s good side. 

The franchise’s frontcourt looks far more promising than it did when Doncic first arrived in Los Angeles, as it now features former Utah Jazz stud shot blocker Walker Kessler (who undoubtedly meets Doncic’s A-List criteria). 

Los Angeles has also surrounded Doncic with youthful contributors who will assist Doncic in helping the Lakers return to championship contention (Kessler, obviously, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes, and Collin Sexton). 

However, a new report indicates that Los Angeles ignored Doncic's straightforward roster request earlier this offseason.

“I’m told that Rui Hachimura (who just signed a two-year, $28 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers) was on the Luka Doncic preferred return list,” The Athletic’s Law Murray said Monday. “The Lakers wanted more defenders.”

“Clippers had the cap space the Lakers didn’t have. Rui Hachimura wanted to stay in (Shohei) Ohtani’s town. “The matchmaker made a match.”

Doncic was clearly fond of Hachimura's sharpshooting ways and wished to continue playing alongside him for the foreseeable future. The Lakers had other plans, though, prompting them to move on from the 44.3% three-point sniper and bring in assets they deem better fits with the organization. 

Could Los Angeles’ surprising decision come back to haunt them? Perhaps, if the franchise’s new additions don’t deliver the goods from beyond the arc consistently. Based on Murray’s report, though, it appears to be a move that the Lakers would make again if they had the chance to.

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• Luka Doncic sends clear message to Lakers on roster they can't afford to ignore