Lakers Rumors: Luka Dončić 'Trending Towards' LA Debut vs. Pacers After Calf Injury

The newly acquired Luka Dončić is "trending towards" making his Los Angeles Lakers debut in Saturday's game against the Indiana Pacers, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick later told reporters that if Luka doesn't debut on Saturday, "it'll be Monday" against the Utah Jazz.

The five-time All-Star hasn't played since the Dallas Mavericks' 105-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Christmas due to a calf injury.

The Lakers held their introductory press conference for Dončić on Tuesday and fans are obviously excited to see him wear purple and gold for the first time.

The earlier L.A. can get him on the court the better, too, because there will be an adjustment period with the five-time All-Star and LeBron James playing together.

Through their experience of lining up alongside Kyrie Irving, Dončić and James both have shared some the offensive load with another ball-dominant perimeter threat. Neither is accustomed to ceding the kind of influence that will be necessary to make this partnership fully work, though.

LeBron is fifth all time in career usage rate (31.5 percent), and Luka would rank first (35.5 percent) if he had the playing time to qualify for the leaderboard, per Basketball Reference.

Swapping Anthony Davis for Dončić meant the Lakers are shifting their priorities a bit. They've extended their window for contention much further by adding a player who's six years younger, and general manager Rob Pelinka has shown for the first time he's fully planning for a post-LeBron future.

That's not to say the Lakers are throwing away the rest of the season. They'll want to make the playoffs and at least advance a round or two, which will help to placate their two stars and potentially attract other marquee names down the road.

A healthy Dončić is critical toward that effort in the second half.