Doncic is a Laker, but that's not enough to win a ring. What's next for Los Angeles this offseason?

NBC Sports

02-05-2025

The Lakers won this season.
It may not feel like it to LeBron James or J.J. Redick after the Timberwolves unceremoniously evicted the Lakers from the playoffs in five games. Minnesota was bigger, younger, more athletic, deeper and more physical.
'We lost to a better team,' Redick said. 'That's just the reality. We did.'
That loss shattered the perception of how good these Lakers really were. It showed that Los Angeles, for all its star power now with Doncic and LeBron James, has serious work to do to reach contender status — and Redick wasn't all that subtle in saying what he wants to see from his stars (or, star) and the rest of his team.
'We have a ways to go as a roster,' Redick said. 'And certainly, there are individuals that were in phenomenal shape. There's certainly other ones that could have been in better shape. That's where my mind goes immediately, is we have to get in championship shape.'
Even with all that, the Lakers were winners this season the second they traded for Doncic. He can be the present and will be the bridge to the post-LeBron future in Los Angeles.
What was also clear from the moment of that trade: The Lakers' current roster did not fit what works best around Doncic. It was incomplete. The fixes were not going to come until the offseason.
Now the offseason has arrived. Here are three things the Lakers need to focus on, and how building a team around Doncic and LeBron is different than the 2024 blueprint of the Mavericks' NBA Finals team.
Find a center
Anthony Edwards would drive around his Lakers defender — didn't matter who it was, they didn't have anyone who could stay in front of him (no team does) — and his eyes would get huge. There was no resistance between him and the rim, or, if someone was there, it was a rotating guard half the time, and Austin Reaves isn't stopping Ant with a full head of steam.
ANTHONY EDWARDS STEALS THE BALL FROM LUKA DONCIC AND THEN DUNKS ON HIM 🤯 pic.twitter.com/H12FvBBIxP
The Lakers must find a rim-protecting big man. Ideally, one who can be the kind of vertical threat on the roll that Doncic loves to play off of.
'We know this offseason, one of our primary goals is going to be to add size in our frontcourt at the center position…" Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said at his end-of-season press conference Thursday. 'I think in terms of center traits, it would be great to have a center that was a vertical threat, lob threat, and someone that could protect the interior defensively.'
The challenge is finding a player like that on the market at a price the Lakers can make work. The Lakers will have the taxpayer's mid-level exception ($5.7 million) or they have to make a trade.
One name to watch is Clint Capela, the 30-year-old big who has played the five seasons in Atlanta and is a free agent this summer. Capela is a rock-solid, professional NBA big — not exactly dynamic, but someone Redick could rely on night in and night out. Brook Lopez is also a free agent this summer, but at age 37, his game has taken a step back in recent seasons.
The best player potentially on the market is Indiana's Myles Turner, he would be a great fit, but he will be too expensive for the Lakers. With the contracts of Isaiah Hartenstein (three years, $87 million) and Alperen Sungun (five years, $185 million) setting the market, Turner is going to ask for $30 million or more a season. Indiana's front office has said publicly it wants to re-sign him.
One other name worth watching: Nic Claxton in Brooklyn. That would have to be a trade, but keep an eye on the possibility.
Lakers need perimeter defenders, shooting
Minnesota coach Chris Finch trusted his bench — Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo were closing games and making major contributions off the bench for the Timberwolves. Redick didn't make one substitution in the second half of Game 4, he trusted his bench that little.
The Lakers need more depth. Doncic, LeBron and Austin Reaves are set. The Lakers will land a new center and Jaxson Hayes can slide over to be a backup, where he is a good fit. Dalton Knecht will return and should take a step forward.
Then it gets challenging. Dorian Finney-Smith was a good two-way fit for the Lakers and has a connection with Doncic going back to Dallas, but he is expected to opt out of his $15.4 million contract (player option) and be seeking a raise, which the Lakers pretty much have to pay because they can't afford to lose him for nothing.
Other Lakers rotation players from this year — Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt — are locked in, but Pelinka will be looking for upgrades in shooting and athleticism. Those guys could end up in trade talks.
It's worth noting the Lakers don't just want shooters or pure 3&D guys. Los Angeles looked best against Minnesota when they were running sets, moving off the ball, and not just running Doncic isolations with other guys standing around. The Lakers need all-in players.
Extend/re-sign Luka Doncic, LeBron James
For all the talk about his conditioning and commitment to the game, money ultimately led to Dallas trading their star (and getting ownership to sign off on it). Doncic is extension eligible this summer, and Dallas was going to have to max him out with the richest contract in NBA history, five years, $345 million. Dallas balked at that number.
The Lakers can't pay him that much because he's no longer super-max eligible after the trade. While Doncic technically could play out next season then use his player option to become a free agent in 2026, no league source NBC has spoken with thinks he is considering that. Rather, it's the opposite, they think it's a lock he stays long term.
On Aug. 2, the Lakers can extend Doncic with a max four-year, $229 million contract. Doncic will pass on that and instead sign a three-year, $165 million extension, which ends right as he hits 10 years of service in the NBA, allowing him then, at age 29, to re-sign with the Lakers at a projected five-year max of $418 million.
There is no doubt Doncic will re-sign with the Lakers this summer. Ultimately, the same is true of LeBron, although he has not formally said if he is returning for a 23rd season.
'I don't know. I don't have an answer to that,' James said after the Lakers were eliminated. 'Something I'll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and just kind of talk through it and see what happens. Just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play. I don't know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So, we'll see.'
Good luck finding anyone around the league who thinks LeBron will retire this summer. Not after an All-NBA season. Not before a record 23rd season. Not before a year where the All-Star Game comes to Southern California. And not leaving a team with the potential to be a contender.
LeBron has a $52.4 million player option for next season (the second year of the two-year contract he signed last summer). The expectation is that he will opt out and ultimately re-sign with the Lakers, but this year don't expect an offer of a discount to sign the right player.