Lakers Warned About Locker Room Trouble Amid Risky Move With LeBron James & 8 Stars

The Los Angeles Lakers are at a critical crossroads right now. Despite making multiple moves to bolster their ranks and depth, such as getting former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart and a legitimate Center in De’Andre Ayton. While that is bound to help, there remain perceived weaknesses still. The Lakers need another wing, preferably a shooter to add a secondary scorer James and Doncic can play off.

Further, while both Smart and Ayton are great additions, they aren’t long-term fixes. That’s because both players are on just single-year deals, with their second year being a player option. However, this is not the end; in fact, this is where the worries start for the Lakers. Apart from these two, the storied franchise only have five guaranteed players on their roster. These include Luka Doncic, Jared Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht (team option), and Bronny James, who are all tied down at least until the 2026-27 season.

Out of these stars, the most notable name missing from the list is, of course, LeBron James. The 40-year-old who opted for his $52.6 million player option ahead of this campaign will become a free agent next summer. This should be a huge concern for Rob Pelinka and Co., as if things start to go south, next summer might be quite chaotic for the franchise. That is exactly what Lakers journalist Raj Chipalu alluded to as well.

While chatting with Anthony Irwin, Chipalu revealed the risk of having players on one-year deals. “If the Lakers start losing, that’s where all this stuff just compounds into negativity, where guys start wanting more minutes here, wanting numbers there, and things of that nature. But I think at least for now, while things are fresh and if the Lakers win as we think they should be, Luka just had a big thing drop again today, which I think is kind of signifying how he feels going into this season and the type of statement he’s trying to make,” he said.

Of course, the Lakers have already shown their cards. Luka Doncic is their long-term future while LeBron James potentially being on his way out has not led to any urgency. All signs point towards a major overhaul that will effectively see a new team forming around Doncic. The Lakers have already been linked to another potential superstar name to pair the Slovenian with, with players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic being regularly mentioned as long-term targets.

“So yeah, I’m not too concerned right now, but that’s kind of the risk of having guys on one year. There’s a reason teams like to lock guys in for three, four years because it’s OKC. It shows a level of trust in both parties, right? Dorian gets a four-year whatever it is from the or three-year deal from the Rockets, showing some kind of trust within both those teams.” Chipalu further added. The reporter noted that, while it won’t be a massive issue if L.A. has a great season, if that’s not the case, things could go bad.

To put it simply, if the Lakers don’t achieve what they are setting out to do this season, which seems like at least a deep playoff run, players like Marcus Smart and De’Andre Ayton, who have player options, might opt out. Meanwhile, LeBron James, who has already indicated that he will weigh his options, might not even think twice before moving away from Southern California. Not to mention the likes of Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and others who also might not negotiate new deals and look for a way out.

This is the exact reason why teams want to lock down their players for somewhere around three to four years. It not only gives security to the team, but it also provides a level of assurance to the player. Nonetheless, that’s not something the Lakers can change right now, with them already not having much space to work with to begin with. Further, it appears to be a part of their long-term strategy to retool for the post-LeBron years.

Can the Lakers go all the way this season?

Well, there is no doubt that there is a certain level of uncertainty around the Los Angeles Lakers past the 2025-26 season. However, that can easily change if the Purple & Gold are able to achieve their goals this season. But can they really emerge as real title contenders? Yes. While there might be doubts over this roster past this season, Rob Pelinka and the rest of the front office have done more than enough to address the major issues that became evident last season.

The most notable upgrade will be De’Andre Ayton at the center position, as the entirety of last season, the Lakers felt the absence of a real starting center. Moreover, the addition of Marcus Smart provides some much-needed depth to JJ Redick. However, it’s not all about the newcomers, as this will also be Luka Doncic’s first full season with L.A., and by the looks of things, the 26-year-old has massively improved his game and physique. We’ve all witnessed the new version of the Slovenian guard at the FIBA EuroBasket.

At this summer’s event, Doncic averaged 34.7 points along with 8.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists, winning the scoring title and also earning a place in the tournament’s best five. On the other hand, LeBron James has also been training pretty hard this offseason. So, it’s safe to say that the Lakers look much improved from last season and, most importantly, look like real contenders. Now, how well do they actually do in the regular season? That’s something we all will have to wait and watch.