MOVE ON FROM ’BRON?

THE LAKERS laid their future foundation with the blockbuster acquisition of Luka Doncic, 

a 25-year-old scoring machine who will be part of the reimagining of L.A.

People in both organizations were asked about possible talks and no one even came close to mentioning the blockbuster deal, their responses ranging from “first I’ve heard of this” to “maybe it’s [Daniel] Gafford.” Davis, just two weeks ago, had publicly lobbied for the Lakers to trade for a center and the team had been canvassing the NBA for options to pair with Davis.

3 Feb 2025 - Los Angeles Times

DAN WOIKE ON THE LAKERS

Shock the world? Check.

What’s next in

Lakers’ future?

NEW YORK — You weren’t dreaming. You didn’t imagine it. It wasn’t some kind of strange Saturday night hallucination.Robert Gauthier Los Angeles TimesTHE LAKERS laid their future foundation with the blockbuster acquisition of Luka Doncic, a 25-year-old scoring machine who will be part of the reimagining of L.A.

Yes, you watched the Lakers play one of their best basketball games of the season. Yes, you saw the team, maybe more than ever, look like a group that could make a run to the playoffs.

And then, yes, you read that the foundation of the Lakers’ present, and most importantly, its future, were completely altered.

The Lakers did, in fact, trade Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick for Luka Doncic minutes after the team pulled out of Madison Square Garden. In a single moment, the team officially ended questions about how much more it should pour into a team built around LeBron James and Davis. And it skipped through the ugly future everyone had accepted in the post-James aftermath, another uncomfortable rebuild likely the cost of one last push.

Well, that’s done now. The Lakers have a future — a 25-yearold star who is maybe the secondbest living basketball player. And they completely upended their present plans to make it happen.

The deal happened in almost total secrecy, The Times first hearing rumors of the Lakers and the Mavericks working together on something from a rival executive on Thursday night. The only problem was that no one knew what the teams were talking about.

Nothing, though, felt imminent on that front with people close to the situation left believing that the Lakers’ biggest priority had shifted to finding another offensive playmaker.

The belief, though, was that the team was headed toward a smaller move to augment its current roster. That group was playing some of its best basketball, having won eight times in the last 10 games with the NBA’s third-best net rating over that span.

In Dallas, according to reports, the Mavericks were growing frustrated with Doncic’s conditioning. He’d been out of action since suffering a calf injury on Christmas, and this summer, was headed for the kind of no-brainer max extension every player even close to his standing gets offered and signs. Except, it appears, the Mavericks weren’t comfortable with that.

Doncic posted a lengthy message on social media platform X thanking Dallas fans for welcoming him as a teen and providing a home away from home. He also lauded community organizations he collaborated with to help those in need during his career.

"I thought I'd spend my career here and I wanted so badly to bring you a championship," Doncic wrote.

He followed that with a response to the Lakers' announcement welcoming Doncic to the franchise.

"Grateful for this amazing opportunity. Basketball means everything to me, and no matter where I play the game, I’ll do so with the same joy, passion and goal — to win championships," Doncic wrote.

According to people briefed on the trade not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, Dallas general manager Nico Harrison approached Lakers GM Rob Pelinka about the possibility, the two having a long history that goes back to Harrison’s work at Nike with Kobe Bryant, when Pelinka was his agent. In

Davis, the Mavericks were going to get a game-changing frontcourt defender to pair with Kyrie Irving while reuniting the All-Star big with Jason Kidd, who was on Frank Vogel’s championship staff in 2020.

And while Davis, according to people familiar with the situation, was stunned — again, no one knew about this — the eventual end with the Lakers was probably coming at some point.

The Lakers spent a big chunk of their summer messaging to Davis that he would be the driver in their future decisions, only for the team to hire a first-time coach against his wishes while failing to aggressively overhaul the roster. And if James were to retire and the Lakers needed to head into a full rebuild, Davis would be the best tool to turbocharge that process.

By acquiring Doncic, the Lakers’ post-James era has its first (and biggest) tentpole.

The short-term, oncourt impact, though, is less clear. Rival evaluators familiar with the Lakers point to the team’s three best players now being high-usage on-ball players. In dealing Christie, the Lakers lost their best perimeter defender. In trading Davis, of course, they lost their best interior defender.

Jaxson Hayes is now the lone true center on the full-time roster, with Christian Koloko and Trey Jemison III on two-way deals.

The trade also means that getting James another run at a title in the short term is not the Lakers’ top priority, which certainly could cloud his plans for the future.

He’s got a no-trade clause and can opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He also could request a trade for the first time in his 22-season career and further accelerate the Lakers into their future plans.

It’s all still too fresh, though his plans have been subject to plenty of leaguewide speculation.

The expectation is the Lakers will continue to be really active between now and Thursday’s noon PST trade deadline, desperately needing to upgrade their interior defense in both the short and long terms.

The team still has a first-round pick in the 2031 NBA draft and a secondround pick in the 2025 to use in trades.

Anything between now and Thursday feels possible because late Saturday night, an impossibly shocking trade happened. The Lakers have their future face of the franchise.

And their present? More surprises could be incoming.

They’ve shown that anything, truly, is possible.

***

Lakers floor it after gear change

3 Feb 2025 - Los Angeles Times

By Dan Woike

NEW YORK — If Madison Square Garden is indeed the NBA’s best stage, like JJ Redick described it, then what the Lakers decided to do before Saturday’s game against the New York Knicks must be considered a wardrobe change.Frank Franklin II Associated PressLeBRON JAMES got a triple-double to spearhead a win on the big stage of Madison Square Garden.

After the Lakers got blown out in Philadelphia wearing their purple-andblack “City Edition” uniforms that read “LakeShow” across the front, Austin Reaves threw his in a pile and declared that they “should never” wear them again. Having lost nine of 10 in the special edition jerseys, the Lakers were scheduled to wear them against the Knicks.

LeBron James and the Lakers made a last-minute uniform change. They decided to wear their “Statement Edition” instead. Well, statement made. Whether the threads had anything to do with it or not, the Lakers definitely looked like a better version of themselves against the 32-win Knicks, dominating New York in a convincing 128-112 win for the fourth victory over their five-game trip.

Led by James’ 10th triple double of the season, the Lakers (28-19) didn’t trail in the second half in one of their most complete victories of the season, even without Anthony Davis. The Lakers made 19 threes, their ball movement matched only by their defensive discipline.

James scored 33 to go with 12 assists and 11 rebounds, flying up and down the court and above the rim to cheers in the Garden. Reaves had 27 points and was nine for nine from the free-throw line, Rui Hachimura scored 21 points and Max Christie smothered Jalen Brunson while scoring 15 points.

“I understand the history of this building,” James said, “and so many people that’s come through this building, so many athletes, so many musicians, so many artists, whatever the case may be. And I’ve been part of Madison Square Garden my 20plus years, so just try to give back to it.”

Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent returned to the lineup and combined for 24 points and eight threepointers. The Knicks (32-17) got a triple-double from Josh Hart with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and they hurt the Lakers with 16 offensive rebounds. But in nearly every other facet, the Lakers were terrific.

Bronny James entered the game in the final minutes and scored on a layup, capping the special night for his father. “I missed a lot of Bronny’s points because of my career over the course of his childhood and his AAU games and high school,” James said. “And for me to be able to see all the buckets he’s had as an NBA player with us, to be here with him is just special.”

The Lakers face the Clippers at the Intuit Dome on Tuesday.

***

IT’S A BIG DEAL

What each team received in Saturday’s three-team trade:

LAKERS

Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris from the Mavericks; $55,000 from the Jazz; three-team trade keeps Lakers under the costly NBA second apron

MAVERICKS

Anthony Davis, Max Christie and 2029 first-round pick from the Lakers; $55,000 from the Jazz; three-team trade moves Mavericks under the salary cap

JAZZ

Jalen Hood-Schifino from the Lakers, a 2025 second-round draft pick from the Lakers originally acquired from the Clippers and a 2025 second-round draft pick from the Mavericks