Los Angeles Lakers Shock NBA with Game-Changing Trade — How the Move Reignites Their Championship Hopes

The Los Angeles Lakers hit the floor in Phoenix on Tuesday night and escaped with a 113-110 preseason win over the Suns, but the box score was only half the story for a roster that suddenly looks deeper—and younger—than it has in years. Marcus Smart, making his purple-and-gold debut after the summer trade that stunned Boston, logged 22 controlled minutes, tallying eight points and five assists while operating under a tight minutes restriction that head coach Darvin Ham says will remain in place through the weekend. Smart’s pairing with Austin Reaves immediately juiced a new-look pick-and-roll attack that produced 17 of the Lakers’ first-half points and consistently put Phoenix center Deandre Ayton in defensive no-man’s-land. LeBron James stayed in sweats for the second straight exhibition, but the 40-year-old star worked the sideline like an extra assistant, diagramming sets for Reaves and rookie Bronny James during timeouts. Bronny rewarded that impromptu coaching clinic with 12 points, three steals and the game-sealing free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining, continuing a strong first camp that has already featured an 8-5-2 line against Golden State last week. The lone piece of bad news: undrafted guard Darrion Johnson turned his right ankle on a drive late in the third quarter. Initial imaging revealed a Grade 2 sprain, and team doctors expect him to miss the remainder of the preseason, leaving an open lane for two-way wing Maxwell Lewis to snag Johnson’s projected roster spot. Next up is the glitziest stop on the Lakers’ exhibition tour: Thursday’s matchup with Luka Dončić and the Mavericks at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip—a dress rehearsal that’s already sold out and expected to feel like a regular-season playoff preview. Ham confirmed that LeBron will make his preseason debut in Vegas, while Anthony Davis, who sat out the Suns game for rest, is also penciled in for 20-plus minutes. Key takeaways for Lakers fans—and fantasy basketball managers—heading into Vegas: • Smart looks comfortable as a secondary playmaker, allowing Reaves to hunt his own shot without sacrificing ball movement. • The Reaves-Davis pick-and-roll already shows improved timing after the duo spent part of August together in the Philippines working out with Gilas coach Tim Cone. • Bronny is defending at an NBA level right now; his lateral quickness forced Phoenix into three shot-clock violations. • Veteran big Christian Wood appears to have secured the backup-center job, out-rebounding Ayton 9-5 in their nine shared minutes. From a macro roster standpoint, the Lakers are carrying 17 guaranteed contracts, so at least one veteran will eventually be waived or traded before opening night. League sources indicate that Jaxson Hayes has drawn interest from two Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls looking for rim protection on a minimum salary, although the Lakers are reluctant to part with frontcourt depth until they see Davis log consistent back-to-backs. Schedule-wise, Los Angeles finishes the preseason with Saturday’s home game against the Kings before eight off-days leading into the Oct. 28 opener versus the defending-champion Nuggets. Ham says the extra downtime will be used for “conditioning and film,” but the coaching staff is also expected to meet with the sports-science team about a load-management blueprint for LeBron, Davis and, now, Smart. Early take: If Smart’s voice in the locker room proves as impactful as his on-ball defense, the 2025-26 Lakers could finally break their three-year streak of slow October starts—a critical factor in a Western Conference where every seed from No. 2 to No. 9 was separated by just five games last season. For now, the preseason buzz is real, traffic to Lakers highlight clips is spiking, and Thursday’s Vegas showcase is set to dominate NBA social feeds. October games may not count in the standings, but they can cement rotations—and drive momentum—long before the first real tip.