Rumor: Lakers ideally like Luka Doncic as possible face of franchise after LeBron

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks

This is how things go in Lakers nation: LeBron James signed a two-year, $104 million contract to return to the Lakers in July and just more than a month later speculation has started on what stars the Lakers will go after next.

Enter Luka Doncic, who led the Mavericks to the Finals in June and has two guaranteed seasons plus a player’s option remaining on his current deal. Doncic, by all reports, is as happy as he has been in Dallas, leading a team that not only was playing last June but is set up as well as anyone in the West to make a return trip or two in the coming years.

That is not stopping the Lakers, who have their eye on him, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor said during a recent episode of his podcast “The Mismatch.”

“I’ve reported on this podcast and on The Ringer how [the Lakers] have their sights set for Luka. 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, but the Lakers by not trading their future picks clearly are still thinking long-term at this point. They’re not going all in like you might expect many teams to do with James.”

Let’s break this one down using bullet points.

• Of course the Lakers are watching Doncic. A year ago, every team in the league was watching the relationship between Doncic and the Mavericks to see if things might start to break apart.

• Now, things are going smoothly in Dallas on all fronts: Kyrie Irving seems happy, the addition of Derrick Lively — who looks like an ideal big to pair with Doncic — has been seamless, and they made a trip to the Finals. Because of all that, other front offices have turned their eyes elsewhere. Doncic would prefer to stay in Dallas if the team is competitive and things now are as good as they have been, league sources told NBC Sports. He’s far more likely to extend with the Mavericks than leave.

• All that will not end the speculation.

• Doncic will not be the only superstar the Lakers are monitoring. This is the reality of the NBA. There are, at any given moment, maybe 10 true franchise…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rumor-lakers-ideally-luka-doncic-120600532.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-08-25 12:06:00

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