The Luka Doncic era should really begin this summer with the Lakers…

We know it and we feel it: it reigns like the smell of the end of history in Los Angeles, in between LeBron James and the Lakers. “King” does not know if this is his last season in the NBA and, if he wants to continue his career, it will undoubtedly be elsewhere (Cleveland?), unless he agrees to cut his salary a lot.

Because as ESPN explainsLos Angeles intends to take advantage of next offseason to reshape its workforce Luka Dončićafter being very wise during the last “trade deadline”.

“We were aggressive”however, assures Rob Pelinka, the general manager of the franchise, who was pleased with the return of Luke Kennard. “And one form of aggression consists of rejecting proposals that are not the best for the short-term and long-term future. It is aggression, even if you end up doing nothing, because sometimes it is difficult to say no to a good player who could be a quick short-term solution, but may have long-term implications and does not fit the overall vision you have for the team.”

Giannis’ dream?

This “idle aggressiveness” will primarily allow the Lakers to have the maximum number of shots this summer, while the team could have more than $50 million in cap space if they don’t keep LeBron James or Rui Hachimuraeven if Deandre Ayton (8.1 million) and Marcus Smart (5.4 million) decide to activate their “player option”.

Internally, the idea would be to use this for expansion Austin Reavesin order to offer Luka Dončić another creator who historically allows him to express himself at best, like Jalen Brunson or Kyrie Irving with the Mavericks. But also to surround him with physical defenders: profilesAndrew Wiggins, Tarry Eason, Tobias Harris, Quentin Grimes, Dean Wade or even Peyton Watson it mentions…

However, the wild card remains: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Did the Lakers remain wise during the last “trade deadline” in the idea that the “Greek Freak” will be more available next summer, when LeBron James is gone? This may be a dream option for Los Angeles, even if it’s not necessarily the most realistic.

But regardless of the road, summer promises to be explosive in the City of Angels, especially since behind the scenes, new owner Mark Walter will be more involved in the preparation of the new “Purple and Gold” chapter.