The Los Angeles Lakers had an utterly disappointing end to the season, marked by inconsistent play and an inability to sustain momentum when it mattered most.
The Los Angeles team was mercilessly crushed by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.
The LA team, led by LeBron James and Luka Doncic, had no answer for Minnesota’s intensity and teamwork, with Anthony Edwards as the standout player. The Lakers showed a lack of physicality and energy that ultimately made the difference.
But they are already looking ahead to next season. The Southern California team is already planning things, with the idea of making several moves to compete for the championship, all with a big name at the helm of the project: Luka Doncic.
The Lakers want to build their team around Luka Doncic, hoping he will lead them to multiple championships in the coming years. So much so that they have already chosen the first player to be sacrificed.
According to the latest reports from the LA Times, Austin Reaves’ days with the Lakers are numbered.
“Trade Austin Reaves. Fire him with a deal that gives the Lakers the kind of passing partner and rim protector whose absence knocked them out of the playoffs. Use him as the most attractive asset that could attract the kind of giant that could help this group get back in contention,” the source wrote.
The situation is very clear: Austin no longer fits the project and they want to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Many fans debated Luka and Austin’s performance in the game, as both underperformed and the feeling is that they don’t have chemistry when they don’t have the ball, which would be a huge problem for the team in the long run.
Defense and physicality are the most pressing needs of the Los Angeles Lakers, who fell short in the competition with Minnesota.
The truth is that this idea excites their fans, who are confident that this could be the start of a new era with a championship in the short term.
