When LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, it had been five years since the franchise's last NBA postseason appearance, a drought as antithetical as it gets for a team that before that dry spell had missed the playoffs only five times in its 65-year existence.
Now, five years removed from its most recent NBA championship -- when James was named Finals MVP and lifted L.A. over the Miami Heat in six games -- Luka Doncic signed a three-year, $165 million maximum contract extension on Saturday. Whereas James was tasked with restoring respectability to the league's glamour outfit, Doncic's goal is to build a sustainable model that contributes to the Lakers' 17 titles.
James was 34 when he arrived in Southern California, informing an urgent approach to team-building in hopes of maximizing the tail end of his prime. Doncic is only 26, but that doesn't mean he will be patient in L.A.'s quest to construct a contender around him. Doncic made that clear during a dinner in May with Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick when discussing their future together.
"I don't want to wait," Doncic told the table, a source familiar with the conversation told ESPN. "I had a taste of the Finals. I am getting back there. So, let's do whatever we can now."
As the NBA embarks on an era of unprecedented parity -- there have been seven different champions in the past seven years -- the question is: Can the Doncic era in L.A., backed by the deep pockets of multibillionaire Mark Walter and a new ownership group, buck that trend? -- Dave McMenamin
How the Lakers should build around Luka
Common sense holds that two player archetypes fit best next to Doncic, and the stats bear that out.
The first is powerful, rim-running centers. Based on on/off data as calculated by xRAPM, Doncic and Dereck Lively II had the third-best impact of any duo among active players when they were teammates with the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic thrives in pick-and-roll situations when he has the option of lobbing to a big. Since he entered the league, Doncic ranks second in assisted dunks per 100 possessions, according to GeniusIQ tracking, behind only draft classmate Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.
The second player type is a knockdown shooter, as Doncic has generated the most corner 3-point attempts of any passer in the NBA throughout his career, according to GeniusIQ. But the Lakers don't have many on their roster. Among members of their projected rotation, Rui Hachimura and backups Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht are the only players who have made their corner 3s at an above-average rate over the past five seasons.
It likely will be easier for the Lakers to find shooters than quality two-way big men in the years to come. The current supply of shooting in the NBA is so great that the skill set is generally available for cheap. For instance, Luke Kennard (fourth in corner 3-point percentage over the past five seasons, minimum 100 attempts) signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the Hawks this summer, Norman Powell (eighth) was traded for a light return and Seth Curry (ninth) is still a free agent. The Lakers probably could acquire players such as Grayson Allen (10th) and Sam Hauser (12th) in trades without too much fuss if they wanted.
Trustworthy big men are rarer, and new Lakers center Deandre Ayton is a decent but imperfect fit in the short term. While he was a solid pick-and-roll partner for Chris Paul with the Phoenix Suns, Ayton isn't as vertical an athlete as Lively, and his effort has proved inconsistent.
But there are two schools of thought for the long-term future of the Lakers' center position. The first is that the Lakers need a high-caliber big to match Doncic's brilliance, and it could prove challenging for Los Angeles to add an All-Star at that spot. The second, conversely, is that Doncic is so special that he can turn any rim runner into a force; Lively, after all, was only a rookie when he and Doncic started making magic together.
As for James' fit next to him, Doncic has shown an ability to work with another ball handler of sufficient skill despite James being neither a traditional 3-point marksman nor a rim-running center. Doncic and Kyrie Irving reached the NBA Finals together with the Mavs, while Doncic and Jalen Brunson made it to the Western Conference finals with Dallas even before the latter's superstar breakout with the New York Knicks. -- Zach Kram
What league insiders are saying about the Lakers' next steps
The most important business of the next few summers has been completed thanks to Doncic signing his extension. But for all the talk about James' future, perhaps the most complicated question moving forward in Los Angeles regards the future of Austin Reaves.
The 27-year-old guard has been a developmental success story, going from undrafted free agent to averaging 20.2 points and 5.8 assists last season for the Lakers with a 37% 3-point percentage for his career. But with Reaves set to hit the open market next summer, just how much will it cost to keep him? And does it make sense for the Lakers to pay him?
"I think he will get $30 [million] plus," one executive told ESPN, echoing multiple front office sources who were asked about the next deal Reaves could command.
The expectation, from both that executive and others, is that Reaves ultimately will return to Los Angeles, which would cement Reaves' role as the long-term running mate next to Doncic in L.A.'s backcourt -- the role once held by Brunson then Irving in Dallas.
But the tenor of those negotiations -- and where Reaves fits in the long-term picture for the Lakers -- could hinge on what happens next spring. Reaves struggled in L.A.'s first-round playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in April, shooting 31.9% from 3-point range on more than nine attempts per game and also committing nearly three turnovers per outing.
"This is a big season for him," one Western Conference assistant coach said. "He'd better bring it in the playoffs, because he's got to be good enough [to pair with Doncic]."
What isn't in doubt is that, as Zach mentioned above, the most sensible way to build around Doncic is to have a combination of a rim-running center and, more importantly, several 3-and-D wings to surround a player who has proved he can optimize those archetypes of players.
"Unless he's going to play without the ball," a scout said of Doncic, "that's how you have to build around him."
But the Lakers are far from the only team looking for two-way wings, which are the most sought-after commodity in the league. And while L.A. potentially will have lots of cap space -- and up to three first-round picks to use -- that doesn't mean the Lakers will be able to land them. Doncic also needs to be hidden defensively, another complicating factor when building this roster.
The Lakers also have up to eight free agents next summer. Will that amount of expiring money become a tool for Pelinka to make upgrades for both this season and beyond? -- Tim Bontemps
