EL SEGUNDO — The Lakers’ standards, and their ambitions, never change. Right now, Banner No. 18 is the first priority, not only to get back to the top of the mountain but to enable Laker fans to sneer at their Boston Celtics counterparts.
But that’s only one of the storylines surrounding this coming season. The one that might not be the most important but very likely will be the most enduring, especially with the national media: Whose team is this, anyway: Luka’s or LeBron’s?
Going into the 2025-26 NBA year, which for the Lakers begins with Media Day player interviews on Monday, amateur Lakerologists will be watching LeBron James and Luka Doncic closely for signs of … what? Tension? Friction? Wariness? Even – gasp! – harmony?
Maybe, hopefully, this will be so much static, a projected scenario of chaos that never comes to pass. But it must be discussed, if for no other reason than to get the elephant out of the room.
James had been the fulcrum of every team he has been on, dating to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. That balance was shifted when Rob Pelinka pulled off the theft of a trade for Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks last Feb. 1. (The chants of “Thank you, Nico,” directed at Dallas general manager Nico Harrison when the teams played later that month, might still be echoing.)
A couple of days after the trade, with everybody still in a state of shock that (a) Pelinka pulled this one off and (b) did so without any leaks, LeBron said this:
“It’s kind of hard right now to kind of digest what it’s going to look like on the floor. Obviously, two selfless competitors, (who) love seeing the success of our teammates. Luka’s been my favorite player in the NBA for a while now. I know that. And I’ve always just tried to play the game the right way and inspire, you know, the next generation. Luka happens to be one of them. And now we’re teammates, so it’ll be a very seamless transition.”
There likely were those who heard that, or saw the quote, and rolled their eyes, given LeBron’s penchant for sending passive-aggressive messages. But for the most part their time on the floor together was seamless.
James also said during that session that “if I had concerns (that the club’s focus had turned from the present to the future), I’d have waived my no trade clause and got up out of here.”
He didn’t. And after the season LeBron opted into the last year of his contract at $52.6 million, which would indicate that he was, indeed, cool with the situation.
But the amateur Lakerologists – LeBronologists? – note that this will be the first time in his eight seasons in Los Angeles that he’ll be playing in a contract year. (And, lest we forget, he turns 41 on Dec. 30)
For his part, President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka – the upgraded title came with his contract extension, and we’ll get to that in a bit – was diplomatic Thursday at his joint press conference with Coach JJ Redick.
With egos and feelings and diplomacy to attend to, Pelinka was asked about James’ status entering a contract year, and responded:
“The first thing we want to do in terms of LeBron and his future is just give him absolute respect to choose his story with his family, in terms of how many years he’s going to continue to play. He’s earned that right, and he’s the best one to talk about that in terms of how many years you’d like to play.
“But we were very intentional this summer in terms of the pieces we add with Luka and LeBron, once LeBron opted in, making sure that they had the necessary pieces around (them) to be on a really competitive, strong team, and we built into that and for that.”
As for the future?
“First things first would be for him to be able to make the decisions he wants to in terms of how long he wants to play,” Pelinka said. “We’re going to continue to honor and respect that and let him speak into that.
“We would love if LeBron’s story would be to retire as a Laker. That’d be a positive story.”
So, about those extensions: Pelinka got his in April. Doncic got his three-year, $165 million extension in August (and at that press conference, there were hints that Doncic had worked on getting new Lakers Marcus Smart and DeAndre Ayton on board, which is the sort of thing that a team’s ranking superstar generally does). And JJ Redick, after 50 wins in his first season as a coach, received an extra two years on his contract, a move Pelinka announced Thursday.
The Lakers could have added a year to LeBron’s deal, I suppose. But they didn’t, and they then had to listen to LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, suggest that opting into that final year also carried the implied threat of a trade request if they didn’t improve the talent around him.
All’s well that ends quietly, I suppose. We haven’t heard anything more from Paul lately. And Redick noted that he had discussed it with LeBron face-to-face during the summer.
“I talk to LeBron fairly frequently and had two great in-person meetings with him,” he said. “One, he finally made it out to the Hamptons. So he and I had dinner in Sag Harbor, right around free agency (time). And then was able to spend some time with him here in L.A. a couple weeks ago. And I came away from that thinking that he’s in a great spot mentally, and I know he’s going to give us his absolute best.”
As for Doncic, might his commitment to conditioning – and the leadership he showed during the EuroBasket tournament last month while playing for Slovenia – be an in-your-face to the Mavericks executives who cast doubts about his conditioning and willingness to defend?
Whatever motivation works.
“I think that this is his life. This is his routine,” Redick said. “This is just a daily commitment to the new standard that he’s set for himself. His excitement level, not just in what he hopes the season will be, but his excitement level in embracing this new standard, was very high every time I’ve talked to him.
“… Then you see him play in EuroBasket and he’s moving better. He’s defending. All the things that, you know, you saw at the end of last year where the layoff from the calf injury, whatever emotions he was going through post-trade, like it had an effect on him. So again, it goes back to what I just said about LeBron. I expect the best version of Luka. And it’s my job as a coach to bring that out on a daily basis.”
There might, indeed, be no reason for concern. And there probably won’t be. But there will be plenty of eyes on the Lakers throughout this season, including those of fans from 29 other teams rooting for an implosion.
In other words, the pressure’s on. As usual.
jalexander@scng.com