Apr 22, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers logo at center court during game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers will have a completely new era ahead whenever LeBron James retires, and apparently they have a true star player in mind whom they would like to replace the 39-year-old star.
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor spoke on “The Mismatch” Friday about the Lakers’ dream target. He says it’s Luka Doncic.
“I’ve reported on this podcast and on The Ringer how they have their sights set for Luka (Doncic) in the future. We’ll see if that works out. Dallas just made a Finals. Dallas is looking better than ever with their supporting cast. That may not work out,” O’Connor said.
“But the Lakers, by not trading their future picks, clearly they’re still thinking long-term at this point. They’re not going all-in like you might expect many teams to do with LeBron James.”
Just as O’Connor says, even if the Lakers would want Doncic, there are plenty of reasons to think that development might not be realistic.
The Mavericks are coming off an NBA Finals run. Two seasons before that, they made the conference finals. It’s very easy to argue that they are better positioned to win than the Lakers, which would give less reason for Doncic to want to leave.
Doncic is in the middle of a 5-year, $215 million deal and has a player option for 2026-2027. He has been a first-team All-NBA selection for five straight seasons.
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