The Los Angeles Lakers continue to straddle the fence between building for a future with Luka Dončić and trying to win now with a core of Dončić and LeBron James. Also caught in the middle is 2024 first-round pick Dalton Knecht.

T he Lakers have had a decent offseason thus far. Los Angeles added Deandre Ayton on a steep discount, which gives Luka Doncic the kind of pick-and-roll threat he always thrived with in Dallas. Jake LaRavia isn't a particularly home run of a signing,