Revealing the three major suspenses of the Lakers: James Doncic has not been confirmed to stay in the team? Who will be the new center player?

On May 3, The Athletic and ESPN two authoritative media analyzed the Lakers' offseason, especially interpreting the three most important suspenses: Is it possible for James to leave the Los Angeles Lakers? Doncic's contract renewal is not a surefire? Who will be the reinforcement of the new players in the center position?

James has not locked in the future. The Lakers

The Athletic reported last season that a source who knows James's ideas said he is expected to play two more NBA seasons, which is until the end of the 2025-2026 season. The easiest ending for all parties is that he executes next season's player option ($52.6 million) by the June 30 deadline before retirement.

If he makes such a choice, the Lakers plan to celebrate James' extraordinary career with a whole season like Kobe's farewell trip in 2015-2016. And the NBA All-Star Game will be held in Los Angeles next season, and the time is perfect. James' family and business relationship in Los Angeles made the city extremely attractive to him off the court, and he completely controls his destiny.

But if he wants to continue playing and wants the Lakers to offer a contract extension, then according to team sources, all discussions will revolve around a familiar question: Will he still be willing to continue playing as a Lakers player?

Since James joined in 2018, his relationship with the team has been determined by the answer to this question. If the answer is yes this time, there is room for further discussion between the two sides; if it is no, the possibility of his career ending with other teams will increase.

Only James himself knows what he thinks, and perhaps even he himself has no clear answer at the moment. But the fact that the Lakers were eliminated in the first round is enough to show that they still have a long way to go before the real championship. More importantly, the Lakers' loss to the Timberwolves in Game 5 confirmed James' past concerns about the roster - according to league sources, he still has such concerns now.

Simply put, if the Lakers had an inside player trusted by Redick, the Timberwolves' Gobert would not have sought this in Game 5 (27 points, 24 rebounds, 2 blocks). In that game, the Timberwolves shot an astonishing 90.9% from the field in the penalty area. When James was asked at a post-match press conference that the team's lack of centers was causing the challenges facing the front court, he bluntly pointed out that the Lakers' difficulties this season are undoubtedly due to this weakness in the lineup.

"Well, there is nothing to say," James said with a smile, "I won't say that, because my brother Davis said what he wanted, but he left the next week, so I have nothing to say. I wear this jersey every night and try my best. This is the most important thing."

Almost at the same time, social media was hotly discussed this episode of the Lakers this season, and a smile from 23-year-old Mark Williams was obviously responding to the Lakers' controversial decision to cancel the deal.

So, will James consider chasing the fifth championship in other teams? When asked, neither the league source nor the team source close to James ruled out this possibility, and this was before this knockout game that exposed many problems.

James took the initiative to mention Davis at the post-match press conference, which reminded people of the close relationship between the two before that unexpected breakup. The same is true for James and Mavericks point guard Irving. Irving watched the game on the sidelines of the fifth game, and his interaction with James during the game attracted the attention of TNT's broadcast footage. The Athletic reported in February that Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is expected to chase another star this summer, whether it is James or the Suns' Kevin Durant.

After the fifth game, when asked about his future, James admitted that he was not sure how long he wanted to play, or even where he would continue playing.

"Apart from those players with contracts, you don't know what the Lakers' squad will be like next season," James said. "To be honest, I have a lot to consider. So I don't know what the squad will be like, nor do I have the current position."

However, if James returns to the Lakers, league sources say he is not expected to consider a salary cut like he did this time last year. Last summer, James cut his salary by about $2.7 million, helping the Lakers stay below the second-rich line to maintain lineup flexibility.

league sources confirmed that James had even considered a bigger salary cut so that the Lakers could sign an influential player in the free agency market, with his favorite goals including Harden, DeRozan, Klay Thompson and Valanciunas. But the Lakers ultimately failed to sign any one, and James then signed a contract that was close to the maximum salary.

"I think LeBron has high expectations for the roster," Pelinka said on Friday. "We will do our best to meet his demands."

Doncic's contract renewal is not a surefire

If the Lakers want to find some comfort from their first round out defeat, you might as well look back at how frustrating and helpless the team was in January this year. The combination of James and Davis seems to have hit the upper limit. Although the two stars missed only five games, the Lakers still struggled to maintain their winning rate (the record was 20 wins and 17 losses on January 14). There are also many problems with the

team lineup. ESPN reported on January 23 that James and Davis expressed concerns about the Lakers' ability to upgrade their roster before the February 7 trade deadline. As The Athletic reported in early February, this public statement sparked dissatisfaction within the team. Davis then publicly expressed his hope in front of the camera that the team would introduce center so that he would not have to play in the fifth position again, which also caused internal dissatisfaction. These "forcing palace" behaviors have continued the old problems over the years and have previously caused headaches for the team's management. Whenever the team's performance fails to meet expectations and the lineup strengthens before the trade deadline fails to meet the stars' requirements, they will put pressure on the management in various ways. The deal seemed to improve the situation, with Davis, 32, leaving and Doncic, 26, joining. More importantly, in the long run, the team's situation has been greatly improved - Davis, who is easy to get the young star Doncic, who is more talented.

However, although the deal has sparked widespread heated discussions, the Lakers have been widely praised for their peak superstars, and the Mavericks have been criticized for trading Doncic and having few returns, one detail is often overlooked in discussions: the Lakers did not receive any promises of Doncic's contract renewal during the trade. Doncic has a player option worth $48.9 million in the 2026-27 season and is eligible for renewal from August 3 this year.

For some people, this may be just a technical detail, after all, the outside world generally expects Doncic to reach a long-term contract renewal with the Lakers sooner or later. But the Lakers have long understood that not all stars choose to stick to it. In the summer of 2012, they got Howard from the Magic's trade, but howard switched to the Rockets as a free agent a year later. As for the negotiations that led to the deal between the Lakers and Mavericks, league and team sources revealed that the uncertain prospects for Doncic's contract renewal are the main reasons why the Lakers can retain the 2031 first-round pick (Davis, Max Christie and the 2029 first-round pick).

All this shows that Doncic's attitude and his next decision are crucial.

Although league and team sources said that the cooperation between the parties was very pleasant, and the Lakers also tried their best to show Doncic that they hoped that he would lead the team to a new era, it is still unknown how the five-time All-Star player will deal with the contract issue. Although he told ESPN before the playoffs that he wanted to stay with the Lakers, the team couldn't feel at ease until the contract extension was really finalized.

According to Doncic's personal wishes, he has a variety of options for renewal. Starting from August 3, according to the salary cap forecast, he can sign a four-year, $229 million contract renewal contract; in order to make up for the super top salary lost in the transaction, he can also choose a shorter three-year, $165 million contract renewal contract, of which the 2028-29 season is the player option. By then, he will meet 10 years of age and be eligible to sign a maximum salary contract of 35% of the salary cap, so that he can sign a five-year, $418 million contract in the 2028 offseason.

Doncic can also choose to finish his existing contract, jump out of the contract after the 2025-26 season, and then renew his contract with the Lakers for 5 years worth $296 million; or join other teams and sign a four-year, $219 million contract. According to team sources, the Lakers will accept any contract structure Doncic wants.

Sources close to Doncic said he would carefully consider his decision. Doncic felt very sad when he was traded to the Lakers both in public and in private. He once said he wanted to retire in Dallas. However, this failure is not all a bad thing, and there is also a little comfort in it. "For Luca, he feels he's needed here." After Doncic came to Los Angeles, James has been trying to support him and will not interfere with his decision. "No, that's not my duty," James told ESPN. "I think... no, I'm sure Luca knows what I think of him. After all, that deal is for the future of the team, not for me. Luca has to decide how to go in the future. He's only 26 and I'm 40, and he can't build his career planning on me, which is true. But obviously, I hope he can stay here for a long time. Lakers fans love him so much, Los Angeles accepts him, and as teammates and brothers, we all like him. But in the end, he has to make a decision for himself. After all, I don't have much time to play."

The Lakers have made it clear that they want to work with Doncic for a long time. "I think Luca Doncic's joining the Los Angeles Lakers is a major event in NBA history," Pelinka said at a press conference for Doncic's joining. But before August comes, the Lakers have an important task: to portray the team's vision to the outside world, making Doncic believe that the first round of this year was just an accident and was a not very smooth beginning in their long and promising journey of cooperation.

Which center will the Lakers introduce? When Doncic and Pelinka met after the deal, Doncic said he liked to work with players with air threats — like he did when he partnered with Drake Lefley II and Daniel Gafford in Dallas — and believed that it was the key to unlocking his offensive potential.

"Before the trade deadline, I will try my best to see if I can find such a player," Pelinka recalled the conversation with Doncic in the office after the trade. "If it doesn't work, we will solve this problem this summer."

In order to show sincerity and show determination to cooperate with Doncic, the Lakers traded Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams on February 5, but a few days later, due to concerns about Williams' physical examination results, the deal was cancelled. The Lakers' salary space restrictions make it difficult to introduce centers, either getting target players through trades or using the middle class special case (an estimated starting salary of $5.7 million) to sign. But Pelinka's signing operations last season revealed his target direction.

The Lakers have had rumors with many players, including Kessler of the Jazz, Miles Turner of the Pacers, Clarkston of the Nets, Adams of the Rockets, Capela of the Hawks and Robert Williams of the Trail Blazers. Bucks' inside player Brooke Lopez will become a free agent this summer and may also be one of the choices for the Lakers, who have also played for the Lakers in his previous career. Turner is widely regarded as the best center in the free market, but unless the Lakers can use the "magic" to free up a lot of cap space, Turner is likely to exceed their budget.

"From the characteristics of the center, it would be great if there was a player who had air threats, could complete aerial coordination, and could protect the inside on the defensive end," Pelinka said. "I think these are very important. However, there are many types of centers in the league that can play an important role, and there are space-type centers that can protect the basket, and we will also consider this type of player."