Just four days after the Los Angeles Lakers were knocked out of the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Luka Doncic, their new generational superstar, and Lara Beth Seager, his manager, met with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick at an upscale restaurant in West Hollywood, Calif.
Ever since the Lakers landed Doncic in a seismic trade on Feb. 1, it has been clear that their aim has been to build a championship team around and for him. That meant LeBron James was no longer their most important player or biggest concern.
An ESPN article by Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst outlined what was discussed between everyone at that meeting.
“The purpose of the meeting was as clear as their choice of door: Doncic is the face of the franchise now, and the Lakers wanted him — and everyone else — to know it.
“Over a bottle of Opus One, Pelinka and Redick explained not only their strategy in building the team around Doncic’s skill set, sources told ESPN, but also the complexities of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement and how they planned to navigate them.
“That exquisite bottle of wine might have helped Doncic digest Pelinka’s explanation of arcane topics such as the second apron, the value of preserving salary cap space to help acquire an age-appropriate star alongside of him and what remained of the Lakers’ draft assets. Pelinka had made it a working dinner, toting in a thick binder.
“That binder, with those offseason Lakers plans and longer-range strategies and dreams, used to be presented to James at meetings like these. On the agenda, the concepts of chasing players the team eventually landed — such as Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook — and those they ultimately didn’t.
“Pelinka has talked often to Doncic and Seager in the 3½ months since he acquired the young star from the Dallas Mavericks in one of the most shocking trades in NBA history.”
Almost immediately after landing Doncic, the Lakers went to work looking to build a winning roster. They agreed to send Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and draft compensation to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams, a young and promising center. But the oft-injured Williams failed his physical, and there went that attempt to address the team’s gaping hole at the 5 spot.
Last week, L.A. appeared to plug that hole by signing Denadre Ayton in free agency. They still have some work to do in order to become a championship contender, but since Doncic is 26 years of age, they can have a relaxed sense of urgency.