Doncic

LeBron James has decided this time, he’s taking his talents to Philadelphia.

The Lakers couldn’t be happier.

By not extending his contract a summer ago, they made it clear: They were ready to move on. And they have. They found their way to a front-line center and got a whole lot younger. And get this: They got better. In the long run and probably in a sprint too.

Maybe it seems sacrilegious to suggest they’ve improved by parting ways with the greatest player of all time and trading for a fifth-year pro who missed all but five games last season with the Utah Jazz after suffering a torn labrum.

It’s not. Not when Walker Kessler was the missing piece for these Luka Doncic Lakers.

Maybe you’re finding it hard to get fired up about the new guy with no playoff experience. And you’re used to the Lakers collecting the biggest names — not guys whose games are unfamiliar. Giannis, say. Not … Walker.

But please, stop and consider the tankathon Utah has been running; the last thing the Jazz wanted was Kessler on the court winning games for them.

You also still might be experiencing sticker shock on the Lakers’ behalf. They’re getting Kessler on a $130-million, four-year deal after completing a sign-and-trade that sent out a 2031 first-rounder, 2033 first-rounder and first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.

But position, position, position is to the NBA what location, location, location is to real estate — and if this fit proves as fun as Doncic seems to believe, then Kessler’s contract is going to feel like a real fair trade on the hot center market.

Because, defensively, the Lakers’ new 7-foot-2 center is a shot-blocking, space-eating deterrent in the post. That’s invaluable when you’re going with Doncic and Austin Reaves on the perimeter.

Offensively, Kessler has good hands and good handoff timing. You can call for him to screen all day. He has a radar for the rim, sixth in the NBA in dunks per game in 2024-25.

And Kessler is a blessing on the glass, the king of second chances. His 4.6 offensive rebounds per game in 2024-25 led the NBA.

Also: LeBron is going to turn 42 this season; Kessler is 25.

Walker Kessler was a big presence in the paint for the Jazz before he got hurt last season.

(Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)

Age and experience count for a lot in life. But increasingly, today’s NBA is proving a young man’s game — and check ball, the Lakers are now in it.

Out went Deandre Ayton (28 years old), Rui Hachimura (28), Luke Kennard (30) and Marcus Smart (32). Jaxson Hayes (26) too, the only departing rotation player younger than 28.

In come Quentin Grimes (26), Sandro Mamukelashvili (27), Collin Sexton (27), Ziaire Williams (24), Jaden Hardy (24) and rookie summer league sensation Cameron Carr (21). Also, Kevon Looney, who will be Kessler’s backup big, and Matisse Thybulle, a proven defender on the wing, who are 30 and 29, respectively, and the only additions not younger than Doncic (27) and Reaves (28).

Still, I get it. You’re not wowed by the incoming group.

Were you wowed when the Dodgers acquired Max Muncy, Justin Turner or Chris Taylor? Probably not. But those guys went on to help the club win World Series titles.

Were the Dallas Mavericks banking on lob threat Derrick Jones Jr. — on a minimum contract — being a catalyst for their run to the 2024 NBA Finals? Do Lakers fans remember Doncic’s 17 assists to guys like Dante Exum, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Grant Williams in a 2023 victory over LeBron and Anthony Davis?

Doncic is manning the Lakers’ elevator now; it’s his job to lift his teammates to new heights. He can do it. He better do it.

Because the margins can be major, but they don’t account for most of the Lakers’ offseason grade this summer.

So give them a B+.

Not an A. No, because not every assignment has been completed.

There’s the minor matter of a starting five. The Lakers don’t appear to have one of those just yet.

They might yet add Jonathan Kuminga at forward. Or perhaps someone already rostered — hello, 22-year-old, skyscraping Adou Thiero — is waiting to wow us all in that role?

Normally, not having an answer to the most basic of questions at this point in the summer would fail you.

But this year is different.

Filling the hole at center was weighted so heavily among the Lakers’ priorities — and landing Kessler earned them so much extra credit — it bumps their grade almost all the way up.

Of course, this was only the introductory course.

The real tests for this fresh new roster — down an all-time talent but so much more solid in the center — come when the season begins. Or, really, when the postseason does.

And expecting that opponents won’t have an easy time coming up with answers for Doncic and his new dominant defensive center, the Lakers are now set up to score well there too.

LeBron James is continuing his record-setting NBA career, but he won’t do it with the Lakers.

The 41-year-old superstar has informed the Lakers he intends to sign with a different team as an unrestricted free agent, The Times confirmed Tuesday. After eight seasons, James felt it was best to part ways with the Lakers, according to people familiar with the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly.

James’ tenure with the Lakers was his longest continuous stint with any franchise during his illustrious career. He led the team to its 17th NBA championship in 2020, broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record while wearing the purple and gold and set the league record for seasons played, reaching 23 unprecedented years.

His record-extending 24th season will now be elsewhere.

The Golden State Warriors were reported as a potential option after Draymond Green opted out of his contract Monday, potentially freeing enough cap space to add James. He made $52.6 million last season but could sign for a pay cut to join fellow superstar Stephen Curry.

“LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in history,” Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement posted on social media. “We will always be thankful for his eight years with the Lakers — including the title he led us to in 2020 under the toughest imaginable circumstances and the countless records he broke in purple and gold. We wish him all the best in the future, both on the court and off. He will always be a cherished part of the Lakers family.”

James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game last season for the Lakers while claiming a slew of NBA records, including marks for games played, all-time wins and field goals made. Despite his age James was still considered one of the top free agents in a relatively pedestrian class.

James earned his record 22nd All-Star appearance last season, maintained his streak of averaging more than 20 points per game every season of his career and willed a shorthanded Lakers team past the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs last season.

But he also gave up ground in his decades-long bout with Father Time.

James missed the first 14 games of the season while dealing with a right sciatic nerve problem, marking the first time in his career that he wasn’t ready to suit up for the season opener. His 15.3 field goal attempts per game was a career low, and he was ineligible for end-of-season awards because he missed 22 regular-season games, ending his streak of 21 years with All-NBA honors.

The Lakers needed James to reach the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season — when the team was without star Luka Doncic for the entire postseason — but the NBA’s all-time leading scorer was set to take a supporting role within the franchise.

Doncic, 27, remains the top priority for the Lakers. Doncic signed a three-year, $165-million contract extension last summer. The Lakers also agreed to a four-year, $185-million max deal to keep Austin Reaves, who opted out of his contract to become a free agent.

Lakers stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic high-five after Doncic scored on a crucial three-point shot in overtime against the Knicks at Crypto.com Arena in March.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

With eight players from last year’s roster entering unrestricted free agency or holding player options, the Lakers were in position to completely remake their roster around Doncic two offseasons after the Slovenian superstar landed in the Lakers’ laps in a mind-blowing trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis.

President of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said after the season that the roster would be “retrofitted” around Doncic, meaning the Lakers wanted to target athletic, defensive-minded wings, knock-down shooters and a rim-running center.

Questions surely will follow Dusty May as he leaps to the Dallas Mavericks after coaching Michigan to the NCAA national championship.

Can he provide blessed amnesia to the Mavericks faithful? Can he help them forget Luka Doncic and Nico Harrison and Anthony Davis and Jason Kidd? Can he allow them to peer into a future anchored by budding superstar Cooper Flagg without constantly checking the rearview mirror?

May, 49, was hired Tuesday as the Mavericks’ head coach,. He led Michigan to the pinnacle of March Madness last season and posted a 64-13 record in two years. He also coached Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four and a 60-13 record in the last two of his six seasons there.

“We set out to find a leader who embodies the values we want to define our organization,” Mavericks president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “Dusty has won at every stage of his career because of his ability to build. He develops players, creates accountability, and brings people together around a shared standard of excellence. His work ethic is extraordinary, and his teams consistently reflect his values.”

The list of high-profile college coaches who struggled to replicate their success in the NBA is daunting: Rick Pitino, John Calipari, John Beilein, Lon Kruger, Tim Floyd and Mike Montgomery immediately leap to mind.

Not only did May not coach or play in the NBA, he barely played in college. He was a 5-foot-10 point guard at NAIA Oakland City for one season before transferring to Indiana and serving as team manager under coach Bobby Knight.

But his arrival will divert attention from the past, from the hugely unpopular and disastrous trade of Doncic to the Lakers for Davis and spare parts on Feb. 1, 2025.

Mavericks fans staged a faux funeral complete with a casket a day later in front of the Dirk Nowitzki statue outside American Airlines Center. They booed Harrison — the general manager who engineered the deal — at every home game and chanted “Fire Nico.”

When Doncic returned as an opponent, Mavericks fans chanted “MVP” when the Laker shot free throws.

Harrison admitted to underestimating the backlash from fans but defended the trade, initially saying he had “no regrets.” By November, he was fired and updated his social media profile to “unemployed.”

Next to go was Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard who helped the Mavericks to their only NBA title as a player and to the NBA Finals as a coach. At the time, it wasn’t clear whether Kidd was an advocate of the Doncic deal or a victim of a front-office blunder. But Mark Cuban, the Mavericks’ former majority owner who currently owns 27% of the team, indicated March 31 during a podcast that Kidd was complicit.

“I think there was animosity between [Harrison] and some people on Luka’s team — his agent and some of the people around them,” Cuban said. “I don’t think they got along. I think there were issues.

“J-Kidd had coached Anthony Davis and was close to him, and Nico was close to AD since he was like 13 years old. So I think there was some confirmation bias as well. But that doesn’t justify our coach and our general manager to stand up and trade our best player.”

Doncic, 26, flourished in his first season in Los Angeles despite a late-season injury that kept him out of the playoffs. The shooting guard led the NBA with 33.5 points per game and he will be a franchise cornerstone. Davis played only 20 games with Dallas because of injuries and in February was traded to the Washington Wizards.

The makeover began when the Mavericks secured the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft despite having only a 1.8% chance of obtaining it through the lottery. They took Flagg, a forward from Duke who went on to lead Dallas with 21 points per game and was named rookie of the year.

Next, they hired respected former Raptors executive Ujiri as team president. And now they have added May as coach. This week they will add two more promising players via the first round of the draft.

“I am honored to join the Dallas Mavericks organization,” May said in a statement. “This is one of the most respected franchises in professional sports, with passionate fans, a talented roster, and a clear commitment to building a championship organization.”

The franchise is trying to eliminate reminders while attempting to instill hope for the future.

“When you study [May’s] journey, you see someone who has earned every opportunity through preparation, discipline, humility, and an unwavering commitment to improvement,” Ujiri said. “We believe those qualities make him the right leader for the Dallas Mavericks.”

Meanwhile at Michigan, a loaded roster will report to interim coach Mike Boynton Jr., May’s top assistant and the head coach at Oklahoma State from 2019 to 2024. Players are allowed to enter the transfer portal for 15 days following a coaching change, so job one for Boynton will be to keep them from fleeing.

Luka Doncic could be involved in two championship bids this upcoming season.

The Lakers superstar and former Dallas Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson are leading an investor group that acquired a professional basketball team in Italy, it was announced Friday, with hopes that the franchise could become part of the NBA’s new European venture.

The group plans to move Vanoli Cremona, a team that plays in a northern Italian city about 60 miles southeast of Milan, to Rome, and submitted a bid for the club to join NBA Europe, making Doncic the first player to state his ambition to become part of the NBA’s expansion across the pond.

“I have dreamed about owning a team in Europe for a long time, to finally have this happen is amazing,” Doncic said in a statement. “Vanoli has a great history, and we are ready to take it to the next level in Rome. We have an amazing group of partners, and I really believe we can do something special for basketball in Italy and Europe.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said this year that the NBA is working with FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, to begin a stand-alone league in Europe. The league could begin as soon as October 2027 with up to 16 teams hosted in major cities in England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece and Turkey.

Rome and Milan are the top Italian targets to host NBA Europe teams. Rome, the Italian capital, has not had a Serie A team since 2020, when Virtus Roma ceased operations because of financial difficulties. Vanoli will begin playing in Rome for the 2026-27 season.

“Rome deserves world-class basketball, and we are excited to be bringing it back,” Nelson said in a statement. “Vanoli Cremona has a proud history, and we are committed to honoring that legacy as we build toward an exciting future in Rome. This city has been without top-flight basketball for too long. That changes now. We are bringing the resources, the expertise, and the passion to make this club a source of pride for Rome and for all Italy.”

Nelson, who is the lead investor and managing partner, was the general manager when the Mavericks traded for Doncic on draft night in 2018 and was the architect of Dallas’ 2011 NBA championship team led by German star Dirk Nowitzki. The investor group also includes Valerio Bianchini, a celebrated coach in the Italian league, and Rimantas Kaukėnas, a 17-year pro across European leagues.

The 27-year-old Doncic, who was born in Slovenia and started his professional career with Real Madrid in Spain, is part of a recent wave of international stars taking over the NBA. The last eight most valuable players have been born outside of the United States. Doncic finished fourth in MVP voting this year behind two-time winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is from Canada, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is from Serbia, and Victor Wembanyama, a 22-year-old Frenchman expected to dominate the league for years.

The NBA played two regular-season games in Europe this season, with the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic facing off in Berlin and London. Next season, Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs will play in his home country against the New Orleans Pelicans and in Manchester, England.

Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where we’re not in Cancun just yet.

I fortunately have gotten some much-needed sleep during the week since the Lakers were eliminated, but NBA news never rests, especially during this pivotal offseason that could reshape the entire roster.

With almost half of the roster spots in flux, we’ll start with one player who we know will be back next season.

Luka Doncic fourth in MVP voting

He led the league in scoring but Luka Doncic finished a distant fourth in the most valuable player voting, which was announced Sunday before Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

While Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second consecutive MVP in a landslide, Doncic didn’t receive a first-place vote. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 939 total points and 83 first-place votes. Nikola Jokic was second (634 total points, 10 first-place votes) and Victor Wembanyama was third (569 points, five first-place votes). Doncic, who had 250 total points, only had one second-place vote, and even fifth-place finisher Cade Cunningham had two first-place votes that contributed to his 117-point total.

This MVP discussion was one of the most competitive in recent memory. A fourth-place finish, especially without a single first-place nod, doesn’t quite do justice to how productive Doncic’s season was. He averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Despite playing without Doncic for the last month, the Lakers maintained a top-four seed in the competitive Western Conference and won 50 games for the second consecutive year. It was just the fourth time in the last 20 years that the league’s scoring champion didn’t receive a first-place MVP vote.

Some of the MVP race comes down to campaigning. Wembanyama, along with stellar play, repeatedly made his case during interviews. Doncic brushed off any chances to do the same.

Doncic preferred to let his play speak, but the message didn’t quite get through. During one of the most magical Marches in league history, Doncic dropped from second in NBA.com’s MVP ladder to fourth.

The season-ending hamstring injury on April 2 didn’t give him a chance to restate his case.

The more disappointing effect of the injury was that Doncic was not close to returning in time for the postseason, where he watched from the sideline as the Lakers got swept by the Thunder.

“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said last week in his exit interview immediately after the season-ending loss. “I know some people wanted me back, but obviously I wasn’t close to clearing. … If I could be out there, I would be, 100%. Everybody in that room knows that. But it was very tough. Like I said, this is the best time to play basketball. I was sad not to be able to help my team.”

Doncic said he will not play for the Slovenian national team this summer while he prioritizes time with his daughters and recovering. His second daughter Olivia was born in December, and Doncic, who missed two games to be present for the birth, quietly managed a custody battle during the season after he and his former fiancee split.

The last 15 months have been tumultuous for Doncic, but he grew as a leader for the Lakers, coach JJ Redick said, specifically in his dedication to building off-court relationships with teammates after the shocking trade that brought him to L.A. left him in a daze for months.

“I don’t think we got the best version of Luka, the person, [last year],” Redick said. “He was great, but he was phenomenal this year as a teammate and a leader. And obviously, as a player, the guy had a tier one season relative to the rest of the league.”

Still first in the Lakers’ hearts

Will Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton be back with the Lakers next season?

(Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)

Doncic took his role as a leader so seriously last season that it started during free agency when he placed recruiting calls to Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton. With both players facing player options to return, Doncic didn’t commit to trying to woo anyone back.

“We’ll see,” Doncic said. “Can’t tell you nothing.”

Most of the Lakers’ roster could change next season, but Doncic is still at the center of every decision. General manager Rob Pelinka said it’s an “ongoing collaborative process” with Doncic regarding any offseason moves.

Pelinka said the roster will be “retrofitted” around Doncic. It wasn’t that long ago that a superstar still in his prime fell in the franchise’s lap, which shook up every existing blueprint. The new archetype are three-and-D players and rim-running centers.

Ayton was supposed to be a solution at center when he signed last year. When asked how he is approaching his player option, Ayton said after the season-ending game that he hadn’t made a decision yet, but that he had enjoyed his time with the organization thus far.

“It’s purple and gold, that’s about it,” said Ayton, who was the No. 1 pick in the same draft in which Doncic went third. “Just being honored and happy to be on this platform. And another chance, and all of that. There’s great players I learned [from] here.”

Ayton flashed his potential. He was a force during the first-round playoff win over Houston. The Lakers needed him in that series and he delivered. But he also acknowledged that it was “a very humbling experience” being on a team that did not need him to score, instead asking him to primarily rebound and defend the rim with consistency.

Considering that Ayton is coming off career-lows in points (12.5), rebounds (eight) and minutes (27.2) per game, it might be hard for him to command a better salary than the $8.1-million option he has on the table.

Smart can opt into $5.4 million. The 32-year-old could decline the player option with hopes of securing a long-term contract, whether with the Lakers or elsewhere, after he proved he could still be an effective defensive spark plug and offensive shot-maker. Had a late-season right ankle injury not lingered so long, Smart, who played only 62 regular-season games, could have been in the conversation for an all-defensive team nod.

The Lakers need strong defensive players around Doncic and Austin Reaves if the duo reunite as the team’s backcourt of the future. The chemistry on and off the court between the guards was one of the highlights of the season and a reason to be hopeful that it could work in the future.

Doncic called playing with Reaves and LeBron James “an unbelievable experience.” Pelinka said at his end-of-season news conference that Reaves has expressed interest in returning to the Lakers. James’ future is more uncertain: Pelinka said the team will give James space to decide on his own, although he “would love” to have the NBA’s all-time leading scorer back.

Favorite thing I ate this week

Pho with rare beef and beef balls from Pho Show in Culver City.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

I was playing hurt the last few days of the season. I sniffled, sneezed and hand-sanitized my way through Game 4 and the end-of-season news conference with Pelinka and Redick then scooped up the ultimate sick day dinner: pho.

The pho tai bo vien (rare beef and beef ball pho) from Culver City’s Pho Show didn’t heal me completely, but it sure helped. I basically slept for three straight days after the Lakers’ season ended. Now between the remaining playoff games across the league, I’ll be catching up on TV shows, reuniting with the friends I neglected for months and enjoying my rent.

In case you missed it

Letters to Sports: Another split decision on future of LeBron James and the Lakers

Lakers continue retooling of organization with plans for more hires

Lakers want LeBron James and Austin Reaves to return next season

‘I don’t know.’ LeBron James unsure if he’ll return for 24th season or retire

Until next time…

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