The Los Angeles Lakers fans can finally breathe easy. Luka Doncic squashed the atmosphere of anticipation by agreeing on a three-year $165 million extension with the team. Of course, the Lakers wanted to secure their new face of the franchise. Their eyes are on the future but that doesn’t mean they want to neglect the present.
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Heading into the 2025 offseason, the Lakers had a few holes on the roster they had to fix. The biggest was their center play. Luckily, the Portland Trail Blazers opened what was a locked door by waiving Deandre Ayton, who the Lakers eventually signed.
The former first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft may not fit the best alongside Doncic and LeBron James, but he is certainly an upgrade. They also added former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to the roster, which could prove to be a key addition.
Despite these key moves, the Lakers are still lacking in terms of their depth. It’ll be a difficult journey to win a championship within the next three years. David Dennis Jr. doesn’t appear to be the most optimistic.
“It’s hard for me to see that right now,” Dennis said on ESPN’s First Take. “It’s mostly the fact that the Oklahoma City Thunder are in the league right now and are built to win championships for the foreseeable future.
Dennis’ claim isn’t outlandish. The Lakers’ roster pales in comparison to the Thunder’s. OKC was able to win a title despite their young core most likely being the worst version of themselves. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren will only continue to get better. To make matters worse, the front office has them secured until at least 2030.
On the other hand, there are a lot of question marks surrounding the Lakers. One of those surrounds their franchise star.
“LeBron James is going to be there this year and we don’t know what’s beyond that, right?” Dennis proclaimed. “So you’ve got to build stars and bring stars to LA around Luka within this three-year window.”
That most likely won’t be a problem for the Lakers. For their entire existence, they have been an ideal destination for superstars. The problem is that the outcome requires patience and consists of uncertainty.
We know what the Thunder are capable of. We don’t know what the future holds for the Lakers, so it’s hard to have faith in the purple and gold. If LA has any hopes of contending soon, the front office will need to figure out one important aspect.
“You have to figure out what we can build around Luka Doncic, who is going to be MVP calibre for the next few years. What can we build around him to put an actual championship contender in Los Angeles?” Dennis said.
The answer to that question isn’t simple, or else the Lakers would have already begun providing the solution. Lakers’ general manager will be one busy man for the next few seasons.
