The fact that Luka Doncic would be treated as a franchise cornerstone the moment he officially became a Los Angeles Laker last February was not a secret. The front office sat down with him to ask him what he needed to succeed, and one of the first things they spoke about was a reliable center. Funnily enough, the Lakers ultimately went for someone Doncic hadn’t shortlisted.
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With the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic had the likes of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, two players who excelled in pick-and-roll situations with the Slovenian while also setting strong screens. So when Rob Pelinka asked which potential teammates he had in mind, Doncic named five players who could help him in the same way Gafford and Lively did.
Sources online revealed the names to be: Walker Kessler, Jalen Duren, Nic Claxton, Mark Williams, and Onyeka Okongwu. Only one of them ultimately became a Laker, and that was just for a day.
Luka Dončić’s center requests:
[Buha] (via Reddit)During Luka’s first meeting with Rob, Luka requested Walker Kessler, Jalen Duren, Nic Claxton, and lower on the list was Mark Williams, Onyeka Okongwu.#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/uIkcech8Lu
— NBA•Fan (@Klutch_23) January 28, 2026
Williams was traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the Lakers but failed his physical, meaning he had to pack his bags and return to North Carolina after spending barely 24 hours preparing to don the purple and gold.
Other than that, none of the other players mentioned were traded to the Lakers. Instead, in the 2025 off-season, they went for Deandre Ayton.
Doncic and Ayton faced each other multiple times when Luka was with the Mavericks. He even went up against the Bahamian center, who was playing for the Suns at the time, in the 2022 playoffs, a series in which Doncic absolutely thrived. So there may have been enough reason for him not to list Ayton as an option.
In hindsight, the Lakers should have stuck to what their superstar suggested. Ayton never really clicked with the Lakers and has since fallen out of favor with Laker nation, with his work ethic and off-ball play heavily questioned.
Ayton has also not been the ideal big man alongside Doncic, with the desired pick-and-rolls just not working. For Doncic to be an even bigger offensive threat, the Lakers may just have to go for one of the centers he had asked for in the first place or perhaps even pivot to heavier Jaxson Hayes minutes.
