This offseason is going to be crucial for the LA Lakers. Now that Anthony Davis is out and Luka Doncic is in, the front office needs to get serious. To begin with, finding fresh faces for the roster wouldn’t hurt. After all, LeBron and AD had long pleaded for a five, but the front office barely listened. However, times have changed—and for LA, change is the only way forward.

Rob Pelinka has several ways to go about it, but the ultimate aim most likely would be to have some financial flexibility. A projected $35.2 million over the salary cap won’t be a favorable scene for teams to give off their players, let alone a trade conversation. So, in that case, what should the Lakers do?

Ex-NBA champ, Jeff Teague, said on The Rich Eisen Show, “Just let LeBron have his tour. They got Luka. They need a center, obviously. With Luka and LeBron, you always have a chance, but they have to get a center. They can’t play small ball the whole year.” Simply put, it wasn’t just the players demanding a five, but the audience, or rather ex-players, too, that saw the major void on the roster. But who could the team bring in as a good fit? “Mitchell Robinson,” Teague said.

The 27-year-old, $60 million big man from New York should be the one for the Los Angeles Lakers. “I know the Knicks aren’t going to let him go, but that would be a guy I would go after,” Teague added. However, rumors also say that Pelinka & Co. could chase after the 26-year-old Nets center Nic Claxton. He is a versatile center as well. “He can switch on guys and play up and down with Luka and those guys.” But Robinson is a league of his own.

“Mitchell Robinson is a force. Defensively, he’s really good. Offensively, he struggles at the free-throw line, but he’s a lob threat and an offensive rebounding machine. If they could pry him away from the Knicks somehow, that would be great.” However, the Lakers need to empty their roster to bring in Robinson. Who would it be? The Lakers are most likely to retain Austin Reaves this season. But Dalton Knecht? “I don’t think they would give up Austin Reaves, but Dalton Knecht, maybe a pick. I don’t know. New York’s gonna have to pay him eventually, and the books are pretty heavy over there in New York.”

The easy conclusion here is that the Lakers should begin rebuilding around Luka Doncic. It will only seem natural for them to do so because LeBron James is in the twilight of his career. And the Slovenian superstar is the future– face of the franchise, if you will. And the way he has kicked off his training session ahead of EuroBasket, it looks like the 26-year-old has heard all the talk about his fitness and regimen.

Luka Doncic stuns the Lakers Nation with latest workout snippets

Luka Doncic: The villain awakens. Nico Harrison has played his part in this movie; now it’s the superstar guard’s turn to shut the noise. Enough of “overweight Luka” jokes! Rich Eisen teases a joke on his show, “It looks like the Lakers have already acquired a freak guy named Ozempic. I don’t know if you saw. What do you think?” He showed a collage of Doncic in two phases: first, the Lakers star allegedly weighed 270 lb. And on the other side was a jacked Luka looking set for EuroBasket.

Jeff Teague responded, “He’s been running the stairs in the hills out there in Slovenia, man.” He has heard all this conversation about his body and his workout ethic. There can be no doubt about that! “MVP Luka on the way,” the former Bucks star declared. Usually, Luka Doncic starts summer training late compared to other stars who start within late June. But given his commitment to Slovenia and the urge to shut the big talks about his fitness, the 26-year-old is in the weight room earlier than ever.

Luka Doncic has flipped the mood in LA. The doubts, the noise, the Ozempic jokes—he’s turning it all into fuel. Even Jeff Teague’s pick, Mitchell Robinson, could be the missing piece to anchor this run. If LA pulls that off, things get serious. As the Lakers stand at a crossroads, the path forward feels fresh, fast, and fierce. With smart moves and the right support, this team can dream again. And for the first time in a while, it feels real.