The Los Angles Lakers promised Luka Doncic that they will find him replicants, if not improvements, of the balanced roster he made a finals run with in Dallas in 2024
“The promises made to Dončić and his representatives before he signed an extension with the Lakers weren’t to have one good month. And they weren’t to undertake a slow build, to count on marginal improvements built by continuity and internal growth. The plans were bigger.
Those promises were to give him a locker room full of his type of players, to find him replicants, if not improvements, of the balanced roster he made a finals run with in Dallas in 2024 before the stunning trade that sent him west.
“The Lakers are on the clock,” one league source said.
Those priorities remain, according to league sources. There is a desire for better center play, true lob threats who mimic the skills of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II (with cleaner injury histories). There is a desire for true two-way defensive players, wings with athleticism and energy on the defensive end and a sweet shooting stroke on the offensive side of the ball. And there’s a desire to lock in a long-term secondary playmaker next to Dončić.
Reaves, who will decline his player option and become an unrestricted free agent after the season, is the most logical fit for that role. The best teams built around Dončić have had complementary guards (Jalen Brunson, Kyrie Irving) who could take on playmaking duties for long stretches independently and play off the ball with him.”