Why Lakers, Luka Doncic are running out of time already amid playoff exit

According to Sam Amick and Dan Woke of The Athletic, Doncic expects the Lakers to retain Austin Reaves as just the start of a significant retool this summer. That retool sounds like it's going to cost Los Angeles a lot of money -- and it will shuffle a lot of players in and out of the Lakers' locker room.

"The promises made to Dončić and his representatives before he signed an extension with the Lakers weren’t to have one good month. And they weren’t to undertake a slow build, to count on marginal improvements built by continuity and internal growth. The plans were bigger," Amick and Woike write. "Those promises were to give him a locker room full of his type of players, to find him replicants, if not improvements, of the balanced roster he made a finals run with in Dallas in 2024 before the stunning trade that sent him west."

In short, according to one league source, the Lakers are "on the clock" to build a contender that suits Doncic.

Reportedly, the Lakers are looking to sign athletic wings, lob threats and a secondary playmaker to take some of the burden off Doncic, the NBA's leading scorer this season.

It won't be easy, and the Lakers do not want to risk discord centered on Doncic. But if they nail this offseason, Los Angeles will be closer to challenging the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs atop the Western Conference next year.

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