What the Los Angeles Lakers have in-house right now has been described by many as a balancing act of two timelines. However, just how much is there with the latter of those two? What beyond Luka Doncic do the Lakers have for the foundation of their future?
Doncic is 26 years old and entering the prime years of his career. That should set the Lakers up for sustained success as long as they surround their franchise player with the kind of support needed for real title contention in Los Angeles.
The realization here should be the ‘future’ timeline with Doncic should come with an element of immediacy. The Lakers need to be in win-now mode. They are not stocked with young talent apart from their Slovenian superstar.
Fansided recently released its list of the top 25 players under 25 years old. Several teams got to enjoy having multiple players featured among the ranks. The Lakers? They did not have a single player qualify for the group.
Lakers’ lack of young talent should raise urgency levels in Los Angeles
Doncic is about midway on this Lakers roster when it comes to age. Who are the players younger than him? That would be Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes, Christian Koloko, Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, Chris Manon, Adou Thiero, Bronny James, and Nick Smith Jr.
None of those names scream future building blocks. That isn’t to say there is no quality to be found among those guys, but it is certainly not of the variety that a franchise will hang its hat on.
With Doncic entering what should be his best years in the NBA, prolonging the maximization of the competitive environment for a future that does not have much at the moment would be rather unwise.
Doncic got a taste of how much he’ll have to carry the Lakers in their season opener against the Golden State Warriors. Granted, it was only one game and the burden on his shoulders was made heavier due to the lack of LeBron James, who was missing with a sciatica injury.
Even so, the Lakers will need to set up an environment where Doncic’s incredible abilities are not wasted. Rob Pelinka must carefully assess when and how his best opportunities to improve the roster in the immediate future will come.
The Lakers received Doncic in the most favorable of circumstances last year — on a silver platter. The asset pool was drained and the roster was not ready to compete with him. Los Angeles will need to stop pretending like time is on their side to change that. They need to strike now.
