The Los Angeles Lakers are underway in preseason action ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season. Luka Doncic is ready to play his first full year with the franchise and LeBron James is set to play the final season of his current deal with the team.
Moving forward, it is clear that the Lakers are focused on building long-term around Doncic. James may still be on the roster, but it is no longer his team. Los Angeles is solely focused on winning a championship with Doncic leading the way.
With that in mind, there have been a lot of rumors about what the Lakers could look to do in the future.
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One dream scenario that has come up for Los Angeles would be finding a way to bring in Nikola Jokic to pair with Doncic. The two superstars are close friends and would fit perfectly alongside each other. However, getting him to leave the Denver Nuggets would be a very difficult sell.
Jokic has yet to lock in a new extension with the Nuggets. That has led to some hope about the Lakers having a chance to convince him to come to Los Angeles.
Despite those hopes, the Lakers have received some horrible news about the future regarding Jokic.
At the start of training camp this season, Jokic shut down the rumblings about him potentially leaving Denver. He did so with a very quick eight-word message.
“My plan is to be a Nugget forever,” Jokic said.
He continued on, talking more about the looming extension that will need to get done between himself and the Nuggets. Clearly, Jokic isn’t worried about those negotiations.
“I don’t think about it,” he said. “Contract extensions come as a reward — it’s just part of the business. Especially with how the salary cap keeps growing.”
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Last season with Denver, Jokic played in 70 regular season games. He averaged 29.6 points per game to go along with 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, and 1.8 steals, while shooting 57.6 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from three-point range. While it would be a dream to pair him with Doncic for Los Angeles, those hopes took a major hit.
Expect to continue hearing rumors linking the Lakers to both Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Rob Pelinka and company will not abandon their dreams, but they seem far-fetched at this point in time.
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