Latest Lakers Rumors Surrounding Los Angeles' Offseason Plans
An eventful 2024-25 NBA season is officially finished for the Los Angeles Lakers.
And yet, it's possible this is when the franchise really gets down to business.
The Lakers have an uncertain future with LeBron James, contract extension talks to tackle with Luka Dončić, a glaring void at center, a supporting cast that needs strengthening and a handful of trade chips to play with on the open market. This summer should be busy.
The rumor mill is appropriately roaring to life, so let's break down the latest buzz.
Lakers Searching for a Center
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When the Lakers miraculously turned Anthony Davis into Dončić ahead of the trade deadline, they left a glaring hole on their interior. And when they later backed out of a trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, they left that void untouched.
Not surprisingly, the center position was a mess in the playoffs, to the point the club often resorted to trying small-ball lineups against the Minnesota Timberwolves' sizable frontcourt rather than trotting out Jaxson Hayes. Neither look really worked, and L.A. was clobbered on the glass and couldn't protect the paint.
"[Rudy] Gobert looked like Shaq," a team source told ESPN's Dave McMenamin after Gobert's 27-point, 24-rebound effort in the series-clincher.
The Lakers know they can't carry this weakness forward. They wanted to add Williams, whom Dončić preferred out of a list of possible trade targets, per McMenamin, but "just couldn't live with what they saw" on his physical. They plan on attacking this need sooner than later with president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka stating, "One of our primary goals is going to be to add size in our frontcourt at the center position."
Luka Expected to Stay in L.A.
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When the Lakers brokered that blockbuster deal for Dončić, they suddenly had their post-LeBron blueprint. Or rather, that would be the case should the prolific playmaker opt to stick around long-term.
His future is still up in the air at the moment. He is under contract for next season but after that, he holds just a $49 million player option for 2026-27, per Spotrac.
L.A. may not have much to worry about, though. Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that Dončić is "widely expected to commit to a long-term Lakers future at some point." Then again, the scribes were careful to note that attitudes can change and nothing is set in stone until pen gets put to paper.
When that time comes, there are different ways this can go. As Buha and Amick relayed, Dončić could ink a four-year, $229 million extension this offseason or take a three-year, $165 million extension with a player option and then sign a five-year, $418 million deal in 2028. There are more potential outcomes, too, and the Athletic reporters noted, "the Lakers will be amenable to whatever contract structure Dončić desires."
LeBron's Future Not Cemented
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James may rarely, if ever, show his age on the basketball court, but the fact remains he celebrated his 40th birthday in December. His NBA odometer shows nearly 60,000 minutes of regular-season action, plus another 12,000-plus playoff minutes.
He'll have to hang it up at some point, and no one seems to know exactly when that will be.
"I don't know. I don't have an answer to that," James told reporters when asked about his future. "Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and just kind of talk through it and see what happens. Just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play."
James has a $56.2 million player option for next season, so perhaps he just picks it up and plans on that being his last go-round. If he plans on playing longer, though, Buha and Amick reported that James will be presented with a question: "Is he still happy as a Laker?" And if his answer is no, "then the prospect of him finishing his career elsewhere could be in play."
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