The Los Angeles Lakers are treading water entering year 22 of LeBron James's career. The roster looks nearly identical to last year when they were bounced from the playoffs in the first round, and with several tradable first-round picks, fans are left to wonder what the front office is thinking.
Apparently, life without James is as much on Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka's mind as the time the future Hall of Famer still has left with the organization.
"They have their sights set for Luka in the future. We'll see if that works out," said Kevin O'Connor on the Ringer NBA YouTube channel. "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 LeBron James."
With two years and a player option left on Doncic's contract, he will not become available until at least 2026. Landing the Slovenian superstar would be at the top of most teams' wish lists. It is a nice idea for Los Angeles, but acquiring Doncic is a long shot.
It might be wise for a team of the Lakers' stature to focus more on the present. Maybe they still have PTSD from the Russell Westbrook trade, but James and Anthony Davis give them as good of a shot as it gets to win a championship, and they seem content with keeping the same supporting cast around them that has come up short for two consecutive seasons.
James and Davis looked dominant in the Paris Olympics. Parting ways with two future first-round picks does not prevent them from luring in a player of Doncic's caliber later on, and it helps tremendously now. Dallas is never going to trade him anyway. The only way they would get a superstar of that level is likely through free agency.
Los Angeles needs to stop worrying so much about what is ahead of them and look at what is in front of them now. That being two top-ten players with championship experience, one is arguably the greatest of all time, and the other is one of the best two-way players in the league.
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