​Rewritten: Lakers Prediction to Avoid Jonathan Kuminga and Reunite with Luka Doncic’s $101 Million Star Sidekick
The Lakers have long seemed to thrive on eye-catching roster moves, and recent chatter suggests another bold shift could be on the horizon. Take the scenario centered on Luka Doncic: a shocker from a February 2025 night when Anthony Davis was traded to Dallas for Doncic—an event that still reverberates through the league. Now, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey weighs in with a bold possibility that would keep the franchise in the headlines: pass on unrestricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga and instead reunite Doncic with a veteran teammate who served as his star-sidekick last season.
Bailey argues that Kuminga could never fully replace LeBron James, at least not as efficiently. “No matter what you think of Kuminga, it’s hard to see him replacing LeBron as anything other than a massive talent downgrade,” he said. “He’s 18 years younger, but LeBron is a better creator, passer, and shooter. With him, Luka Doncic and (Austin) Reaves all on the roster, L.A. would be positioned to play most of a 48-minute game with two high-end playmakers on the floor.”
The franchise’s actions in early July added context to such speculation. On the eighth day of July, the Lakers renounced LeBron James’s free-agent rights (and, by extension, his Bird rights), effectively removing the possibility of outside cap space to re-sign him and signaling a shift away from the four-time MVP. The door to a maximum or even near-max return this summer appears closed, at least for the time being. With LeBron’s Bird rights renounced, the Lakers would be constrained to minimum salaries or exceptions if they desired to add him back, unless a later twist altered the cap landscape.
That move—and the public narrative that accompanies it—fed the broader question: is LeBron James already moving on from the Lakers, and could the organization pivot toward reuniting Doncic with a familiar running mate while seeking other pieces to complete the championship puzzle? The Smoldering question remains active. If the team pursued James again on the free-agent market, Bailey’s scenario would hinge on the Lakers finding an alternate path to bring him back while ensuring Doncic’s chemistry with a reliable, high-IQ partner remained intact.
The report notes James’s own proximity to potential destinations. ESPN’s Shams Charania and other league insiders have suggested that the four-time champion might be eyeing options such as the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat, or the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he has reportedly indicated that a reunion with the Lakers is no longer on his radar. That development could be interpreted as a clear signal that James is content to explore opportunities beyond Los Angeles, which in turn nudges the Lakers to consider other routes to maximize Doncic’s prime years with the franchise.
In sum, Bailey’s assessment raises a provocative “what if” about the Lakers prioritizing a Doncic-led core—paired with a trusted star sidekick from the recent past—over pursuing Kuminga, in a bid to maintain elite playmaking and ceiling for a longer window. Whether such a reunification would come to pass depends on a complex dance of cap constraints, free-agent markets, and the evolving priorities of a franchise that has shown a penchant for dramatic reshaping in the pursuit of glory. The broader NBA narrative around LeBron James and Luka Doncic continues to unfold, with LA’s strategy remaining a focal point of industry speculation as summer progresses.