Things are looking up in Lakerland as of late after the team signed franchise centerpiece Luka Doncic to a three-year, $165 million contract extension last week. It locks in Dončić for the foreseeable future, and now the Lakers can focus on building a contender around their superstar point guard.
After acquiring Dončić in February, it gave the Lakers a new lease on life and a brighter future than they previously had with an aging core centered around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Dončić being just 26 gives the Lakers a far longer timeline to build a championship-contending team, but that doesn’t mean they can slow down and take their time. Dončić told Lakers president Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick in May that he’s not interested in taking the slow approach in building a contender.
“I don’t want to wait,” Dončić said via ESPN. “I had a taste of the Finals. I am getting back there. So, let’s do whatever we can now.”
That doesn’t mean the clock is ticking for the Lakers to immediately be a title contender, especially given the limited roster options they have with James getting paid nearly $60 million next season. Dončić surely knows it’s going to take some time before the Lakers can build the ideal roster around him, but it also doesn’t mean L.A. can just skate by with an average roster every season with the hopes that it’ll be enough to keep Dončić around for longer than the three-year deal he signed.
The Lakers have taken small steps already in bringing in Marcus Smart, signing Deandre Ayton to be a pick-and-roll partner with Dončić and have Austin Reaves as either a long-term piece alongside Dončić or a valuable trade chip to go and get a bigger star. But the Western Conference is unforgiving, and that isn’t going to be nearly enough to beat the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets or Houston Rockets.
Getting Dončić was apparently the easy part given how little the Lakers gave up to get him, but now the hard work begins in trying to install the right pieces around him. The Slovenian superstar made his intentions clear to the Lakers in wanting to get back to the NBA Finals, now the ball is in Rob Pelinka’s court to keep his superstar happy.
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