The Los Angeles Lakers can thank Luka Doncic for saving them from the consequences of how they mishandled the LeBron James era. They traded a surplus of draft picks for short-term help and treated every season like it could be the last elite year of the 41-year-old superstar's career.
In the process, the Lakers made the same mitake that doomed the Cleveland Cavaliers: They abandoned every priority but helping James win.
James' second tenure with the Cavaliers produced the 2016 NBA championship and four consecutive NBA Finals appearances. When he left to join the Lakers in 2018, however, Cleveland fell apart, winning no more than 22 games in any of the next three seasons.
In a recent article by Dave McMenamin of ESPN, an anonymous Cavaliers source explained why the franchise fell apart after losing James: They hadn't actually built anything besides a support system for their franchise player.
“When LeBron left, we just fell flat on our faces because we just weren’t rooted in anything,” a team source told ESPN. “We weren’t rooted in anything foundational in terms of culture or team-building or player development. We were just rooted in the culture of LeBron.”
That's not a knock against James, but instead a statement about how Cleveland effectively pressed pause on building for any purpose other than supporting him. Los Angeles can relate.
Lakers, like Cavs, abandoned player development to build around LeBron
Upon acquiring James in 2018, the Lakers began a process of systematically abandoning long-term gains in favor of short-term results. It paid off early on, as the blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis resulted in Los Angeles winning the 2020 NBA championship and reaching the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
Unfortunately, sustainability bordered on being impossible considering how many promising young players and draft picks the team gave up in its pursuit of success.
The trade for Davis was easily justifiable, but it must be noted that Los Angeles parted with three first-round draft picks. It proceeded to trade three more in later campaigns, all for point guards it had on the roster for less than two full seasons: D'Angelo Russell, Dennis Schröder, and Russell Westbrook.
As a result of the trades that were meant to help James compete for a championship, the Lakers were left with a grand total of three first-round picks between 2019 and 2027.
Luka Doncic can carry the Lakers as they recover from NBA Draft neglect
Thankfully for the Lakers, Doncic is the ultimate cheat code for overcoming years of long-term neglect. He's a five-time All-NBA First Team honoree and two-time scoring champion who has made a career out of putting teams on his back and giving them a chance against any caliber of opponent.
Doncic proved as much in 2024, when he became the first player in history to lead all postseason players in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. He did so while leading the Mavericks to the NBA Finals.
For as impressive as that may be, the only way for the Lakers to turn Doncic saving them into sustainable success is to learn from past mistakes. They must build for the present, of course, but they can't abandon the NBA Draft and the internal development of future pillars if they hope to make their success last.
It'd be unfair to point the finger at James based on the quote that McMenamin provided, but the Lakers were a Doncic trade away from the same fate as the Cavaliers.
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