It continues to become crystal clear that the Los Angeles Lakers are Luka Doncic's team right now and heading into the future.
Even though it still doesn't make a ton of sense and despite the fact that he may look odd in the uniform, it is pretty obvious that the next decade of relevance for the Los Angeles Lakers will directly revolve around Luka Doncic. LeBron James is still playing at an absurdly high level, even at 40 years old, but it continues to be quite clear that the Lakers are now all about Luka. He is the face of the franchise and any future decisions will likely come with him in mind.
Most recently, Lakers head coach J.J. Redick continued to make it clear that the team's offense is only going to go as far as Luka can take them - which is a pretty uncommon statement to make with LeBron on the roster. Nevertheless, it does hammer home the idea that Luka - and not LeBron - is the player that's going to make or break it this season (and heading into the future) for the Lakers.
"Luka needs to be the guy that controls the offense."Lakers head coach J.J. Redick
It's not all that surprising of a statement and it probably does make sense. It's just not common to say about a teammate of LeBron's. I can't imagine there's ever been a time in LeBron's career where a coach would make a game plan of making it a priority to keep the ball in the hands of a player who isn't LeBron. Even during his time with the Miami Heat, it was Dwyane Wade who took a step back and allowed LeBron to be the more on-ball creator.
Nevertheless, this is a different time and age. LeBron realizes he's nearing the end of his career and that the offense operates better and more efficiently when Luka is controlling the tempo. I also can't imagine LeBron is pushing back any on this idea either. He's one of the most intelligent players on the planet and he has to know that the best version of the Lakers is when Luka has the ball in his hands.
As the Lakers try to quickly make a move up the Western Conference standings down the stretch, it's pretty clear that their chances of doing so will largely depend on Luka. The quicker he begins to consistently look like his former self is the moment we'll truly be able to decide how dangerous this team can be in the postseason. One thing is certain; Luka is the Lakers and the Lakers are Luka.