The Los Angeles Lakers’ season ended in demoralizing fashion, but the franchise may already be planning a serious course of action for what could be an incredibly impactful summer.
Los Angeles’ mid-season trade acquisition and ex-Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić could not carry the team past the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs with the combined effort of future Hall of Fame inductee LeBron James, giving general manager Rob Pelinka and first-year head coach JJ Redick ample time to prepare for next season.
In an effort to connect with Dončić and potentially discuss the organization’s offseason strategy, recent reports tell of a private assembly the trio recently coordinated at a Los Angeles restaurant.
“Per Lakers All Day Everyday, Doncic, team president Rob Pelinka and Redick were spotted departing L.A. restaurant Craig’s recently after what appears to be have been a private meeting,” Sports Illustrated’s Alex Kirschenbaum wrote Saturday afternoon.
“The nature of their conversation has yet to be divulged.”
“Doncic, 26, is now the team’s most important player, supplanting the 40-year-old James by default. The club’s future depends on his buy-in. Redick and Pelinka surely appreciate that.”
Pelinka and his front office staff will be looking to supply the generational duo of James and Dončić with the right complementary pieces to make a serious title run in 2025-26.
For this reason, getting the opinion of the latter on possible transaction ideas in a face-to-face setting makes perfect sense.
The Lakers were desperately missing out on an imposing frontcourt presence during their disappointing five-game first-round defeat in the playoffs at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, an issue that Pelinka may look to resolve in the coming months.
