Luka Just Took Control of the Lakers

Luka Just Took Control of the Lakers

The Lakers knew they got a star when they stole Luca Donuch from Dallas. But what they didn’t know is a 26-year-old would run their organization six months after getting there. Now Luca is making demands after signing his extension. But here’s the thing. When a superstar takes control, it either leads to a dynasty or disaster. And with LeBron still in that building, things could get 10 times more awkward than they already are. Why? Because LeBron told everyone he wants to win now. And that ain’t the Lakers. So, people are speculating where LeBron could go next, but hold up. That’s the exact opposite of what Luca just said. After LeBron’s statement through Rich Paul, people assumed that LA would be punting on the next two years, but news has now leaked from a private Lakers dinner. Luca met with GM Rob Blinka and JJ Reic. ESPN says sources familiar with conversation heard Luca say, “I don’t want to wait to win. I had a taste of the finals. I am going to get back there. So, let’s do whatever we can right now. So, what’s LeBron even upset about? They’re on the same page. Well, obviously LeBron hates how much control Luca now has over the franchise. So, let’s assume that LeBron is moving on. Who does LA get to replace him? Because the realistic names here are way bigger than you’d expect. But remember how the Lakers basically stole Luca from Dallas? They sent out Anthony Davis, Max Christie, Jaylen Hochfino one first in a second and got Luca, Maxi Cleba, and Marie Morris. How did the Mets hate Luca that much? Possibly. But the Lakers pitch to Nico Harrison went like this. Hey, Luca’s about to be a free agent. He could literally leave us one year from now. Then we just gave up AD Max Christian picks for nothing. You want us to take that chance? This isn’t dumb for you. This is dumb for us. I mean, we probably shouldn’t even be doing this. And Nico bought that. Mavs were like, “Yeah, this is risky for them.” No, it wasn’t. Of course, Luca was going to resign there. There was no risk. But now we know what kind of resign it was because Luca just opted for a 2 + one Max extension, which means Ellie is still on a pretty short leash to make him happy and he wants to win. So, they immediately came up with a plan. Now, I want to get into what that plan is and which star that they can steal next, but this is the exact moment LeBron decided he was out. Do you remember what the last few years have been like for him in LA? Rob Pelinka listened to LeBron on the Russell Westbrook trade and that wrecked the franchise. So, after that, every time LeBron wanted some big deal, Pelinka said no. Kyrie Irving, DeJonte Murray, even Buddy Heel, no. But Braun didn’t stay quiet, right? and he had passive aggressive tweets and interviews, whatever. When that didn’t work, Rich Paul would drop some weird public statement, but the front office never caved. They kept control after Braraw embarrassed them with Westbrook. But Luca, 6 months in, he sits down to a dinner with Rob Blank and JJ Reic. And what does he say? I don’t want to wait. Let’s win now. And they’re like, “Okay, one conversation. That’s all it took. Now we’re hearing about big moves.” Can you imagine how pissed LeBron must be? one dinner. So, Braun spent years trying to push the Lakers forward. Luca walks in and suddenly they’ve got a plan. And to pull it off, they have three first round picks to trade. Max cap space coming up soon and trade chips like Austin Ree, Ry Hatchima, Dalton Connect. But who are they going to get? Well, the list is way crazier than people think. And if LA pulls this off, the internet’s going to break just like the Luca trade. But before we unpack that, yes, Luca’s age has a lot to do with this. LA was not going to listen to a 40-year-old LeBron, but a 26-year-old MVP level Luca is great. But if LeBron stays, he’s going to have to humble himself to a guy half his age. Do you really think that’s going to happen from a guy who calls himself the king? No. So, before the Lakers future, I want to touch on LeBron. This year could be his last, but where will he go next? Well, I did a whole video on this. So, a quick recap. Assuming he leaves in free agency, which he can do, the Cavaliers, Mavericks, and Knicks can only offer the minimum. These are three teams that you would think he likes. Remember, his two best active NBA friends are on Dallas, AD and Kyrie, but a minimum is unrealistic. So, the Warriors can only offer the mid-level exception, which is about 10 million bucks. Not great. But the Clippers have real cap space to sign LeBron outright and pair him with Kawhi Leonard. Not enough people are talking about how dude can stiff the Lakers while not having to move out of LA. That would be insane. But what about the Lakers plan with Luca? Well, they already took some small steps this off season, adding Marcus Smart, Jake Laavia, DeAndre Hayden, but that is not close to enough to compete in the West against the Thunder, the Rockets, and the Nuggets. They need a lot more, especially to eventually replace LeBron, who is still very good. That is a gigantic hole in the roster. They need to build a championship team around Luca with that ammo we talked about. But the main thing is cap space. Why? Because it’s not just money for the Lakers. It’s leverage. It lets LA say, “Hey, small market team. Yeah, we want your star.” So, you can either trade him to us now or we’ll just sign him out, right, and you’ll have nothing. I know that sounds harsh, but it works. It’s how they got Shaq. It’s how they got AD. It’s what the Lakers do. So, who can they get? Well, things get really interesting in 2027. That summer, there are big free agents including Jiannismpo, Nicole Joic, Donovan Mitchell, Carl Anthony Towns, technically Steph Curry, but only two names actually matter. First, the clock is ticking for Giannis. He can sign an extension next summer, and if he doesn’t, the Bucks either trade him or risk losing him for nothing. And guess who’s going to have max cap space in a contender? The Lakers with Luca Donic. But the other name is Nola Jokic. And I know that people think that’s crazy and I thought that too, but the Nuggets owner, Josh Kroni, randomly mentioned a Jokic trade. The wrong person gets injured and very quickly you’re into a scenario where uh that I never want to have to contemplate. And that’s trade number 15. What? Why would you even say that out loud? Oh, mama. No one even asked him about that, by the way. He just said that out of nowhere. But the key part here is Luca because we all know Jokic isn’t the kind of guy who’s going to be like star struck by the LA market. He has a brother in Luca. Joker Serbia and Lucas Slovenia were actually the same country not long ago. Yugoslavia, it broke up in the 1990s, but they still basically share an identity. Luca and Joic joke in Serbian during games. They train together and they rep that Balkan toughness in the NBA. to them. It’s not about, oh, hey, I get to team up with another allstar. No, this is two guys from the same culture playing together at the highest level. So, when Joic refused to sign an extension with Denver, people are like, “Oh, yeah, it’s cuz he could sign for more later.” But another reason is leaving the door open for something bigger. Now, of course, this could all blow up in Luke in the Lakers face. He could get the wrong co-star. LeBron could cause drama on the way out, but Lucas’s already grabbed the keys and pushed Braun to the sideline. The entire franchise has now pivoted around his demands 6 months in. So if they land the right co-star, this could be the start of a dynasty. But if they swing and miss or if the tension in that locker room boils over, the whole thing could fall apart just as fast as it came together. So the Lakers didn’t just bet on Luca’s talent, they have to get it right because Luca ain’t waiting forever. But one guy that they’re definitely not going to consider is Trey Young. He and Luca have been linked ever since draft night, but now things might be ending for Trey in Atlanta. The Hawks have officially not offered him that max contract extension. So, what happens next? Well, it’s about to get a lot more awkward in Atlanta.

Luka Doncic is making noise inside the Lakers organization. They now have a plan according to what Luka wants for the future but where does that leave LeBron James? This video looks at the latest news inside the Purple and Gold.