The Lakers Failed to Cash In on Luka Dončić Heist

The Lakers won the trade of the century in February, acquiring Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris from the Mavericks for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. The stunning move appeared so lopsided that Mavs GM Nico Harrison became an immediate pariah. 

But L.A. was bounced from the first round of the NBA playoffs Wednesday, as the Timberwolves defeated them 103–96 to complete a 4-1 series win. 

Many thought pairing Dončić with LeBron James would be sufficient for a deep postseason run, even without a true starting center in place of Davis. But the Wolves offense, led by Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid was enough to overpower a Lakers team that got little help from its bench. 

The Lakers now must contend with several realities: James’s Hall of Fame career soon coming to a conclusion, Dončić’s expensive future in purple and gold, and a hard-to-miss churn of head coaches for one of the most storied franchises. 

When James arrived in Los Angeles in 2018, he signed a four-year, $153 million deal, which he opted out of shortly after the team won the 2020 NBA Finals. Since then, James has hinted at retirement multiple times. He signed a trio of two-year deals with one-year player options—and opted out the first two times—a leverage strategy that gives the front office a hint of uncertainty as a way to guarantee roster improvement.

So this June, the Lakers are once again facing the same question with the 40-year-old, who was noncommittal when asked about his future Wednesday night. “I don’t know. I don’t have an answer to that,” James told reporters.

Dončić, meanwhile, is eligible for a contract extension this summer. He is currently in the middle of a five-year, $215.2 million extension he signed in 2021 that ends with a player option for the 2026–2027 season. Before getting traded by the Mavericks, he was eligible for a five-year extension worth $345 million. But the trade took that off the table. 

With the NBA salary cap expected to spike with the league’s new media rights deal starting next season, ESPN front office analyst Bobby Marks previously suggested Dončić signs a three-year, $165 million extension this summer with a player option for the 2028–2029 season. The deal would get Dončić to 10 years of NBA service and allow him to eventually recoup the money lost from the Mavericks trade. 

Regardless, the Lakers still need to find a competent center to replace Davis—and reveal whether JJ Redick is the answer on the sidelines. After spending the previous year as an ESPN commentator and podcast co-host with James, the first-year coach led the Lakers to their first 50-win season since 2019 and just their second since 2011.

But since James signed with the team in 2018, the Lakers have had four head coaches, including Frank Vogel, whom they fired despite leading them to the 2020 NBA title, and Darvin Ham, whom they dismissed after last year’s first-round exit despite a 2022 Conference Finals appearance in his first season.