{"id":153754,"date":"2025-08-07T11:29:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T15:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=153754"},"modified":"2025-08-07T11:29:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T15:29:49","slug":"why-lakers-big-doncic-plan-is-already-doomed-to-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/07\/why-lakers-big-doncic-plan-is-already-doomed-to-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Lakers\u2019 Big Doncic Plan Is Already Doomed To Fail"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES<\/strong> \u2013 The Lakers<\/a> shifted their trajectory the moment they acquired Luka Doncic<\/a> in February. Everything since has centered on him. A five-time All-NBA selection by age 26, Doncic signed a three-year, $165 million extension<\/a> without hesitation. That commitment gave the front office a renewed sense of direction\u2014one rooted in long-term flexibility rather than urgency. But that direction may already be headed for trouble. The Lakers’ plan to build around Doncic, at its core, is about patience. The front office aims to maximize optionality by 2026, potentially even 2027, when they hope to build a true contender around their new centerpiece. However, that strategy faces steep odds in the modern NBA.<\/p>\n

Why Lakers\u2019 Big Doncic Plan Is Already Doomed To Fail<\/h2>\n

Cap Space, in Theory<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"The
Mar 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23), guard Luka Doncic (77), and guard Austin Reaves (15) on the sidelines against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Financially, the math appears sound. If Rui Hachimura,<\/a> Gabe Vincent<\/a>, Maxi Kleber<\/a>, and even LeBron James<\/a> aren\u2019t on the books next offseason, and if Austin Reaves<\/a> declines his $14.9 million option, the Lakers could have north of $60 million in cap space.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a sizable figure, especially when coupled with Doncic\u2019s presence. But for a team in the loaded Western Conference, it may not be enough. Building a championship team around Doncic with just that space is a gamble. The front office knows the real window opens in 2027.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the Lakers’ plan to build around Doncic becomes most aggressive. By then, the organization could clear close to $100 million. The list of potential free agents that summer reads like an All-NBA ballot: Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, Stephen Curry<\/a>, Nikola Jokic<\/a>, Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a>, Donovan Mitchell<\/a>, and former Laker Anthony Davis<\/a> could all hit the market.<\/p>\n

The 2019 Blueprint, Revisited<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Lakers have succeeded with this approach before. In 2018, they created cap room and landed LeBron. In 2019, they traded for Davis and surrounded the duo with veterans. One year later, they lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the model the Lakers hope to repeat. But what worked then may not work now.<\/p>\n

CBA Changes Shift the Landscape<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, stars have more reasons to stay. Bigger raises, earlier extension windows, and more lucrative deals heavily favor incumbent teams. That\u2019s already reshaping how player movement works.<\/p>\n

This summer alone, stars like Giannis, Davis, Mitchell, Jimmy Butler<\/a>, and Lauri Markkanen<\/a> could have been free agents but all signed extensions prior. So did key role players like Derrick White<\/a> and Ivica Zubac<\/a>. Free agency, once a path to fast improvement, has all but dried up.<\/p>\n

In this new environment, stars rarely become available on the open market. Teams now trade for top-tier talent instead of waiting on cap space to do the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n

Outdated Beliefs, Costly Bets<\/strong><\/h3>\n

That\u2019s the flaw in the Lakers’ approach. Their plan to build around Doncic leans on an outdated belief\u2014that cap room, a glamorous market, and a marquee star will be enough to lure elite players. But the game has changed. Golden State, New York, Boston\u2014these teams got better through trades, not free agency.<\/p>\n

Doncic may be the right cornerstone. But the strategy around him feels stuck in the past. In a league evolving fast, betting on yesterday\u2019s playbook rarely wins championships.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the second apron tightens its grip on more front offices, expensive rosters may soon look for escape hatches. That shift could benefit the Lakers. Even if they hold off on spending big in free agency next summer, they could still improve Doncic\u2019s supporting cast through trades\u2014particularly ones where salary doesn\u2019t have to match.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a viable route and one that could yield results. Still, it\u2019s unlikely to bring another star next to Doncic. So for the Lakers to achieve their dreams of building a contender around him, they will have to resort to using their prized draft assets.<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2013 The Lakers shifted their trajectory the moment they acquired Luka Doncic in February. Everything since has centered on him. A five-time All-NBA selection by age 26, Doncic signed a three-year, $165 million extension without hesitation. That commitment gave the front office a renewed sense of direction\u2014one rooted in long-term flexibility rather than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":153381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,26,3,4721],"tags":[1466,1133,4975,1382,49742],"class_list":["post-153754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-cap-space","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nba-contracts","tag-nba-trade","tag-salary-cap"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153755,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153754\/revisions\/153755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}