Spurs should circle Luka Doncic as Lakers give him every reason to leave

I'm not sure why Luka Doncic would want to stick around in LA after the recent stream of reports we've seen lately. In recent news, the Lakers' third-best player, Austin Reaves, may not be sticking around after next season. If they're going to lose some of their best players over the next year, there's no reason for the Slovenian savant to put down roots.

Luka's reasons to leave the Lakers are stacking up

The Lakers haven't been the same storied organization they used to be since the passing of the late great Jerry Buss. Sure, they won a bubble championship, but that's because out of nowhere, LeBron James decided he wanted to Los Angeles, but that decision wasn't born out of something special they'd done as a franchise. It was the big market allure that Los Angeles radiated.

Bron is now over 40 years old, and he's expected to opt into the last year of his contract. That could be a signal that he's considering retiring or moving on after the season. That means Luka would be losing his numbers two and three, so what does that leave him with to compete?

LA hasn't done a great job of recruiting impactful free agents or orchestrating important trades lately, so you can't count on that happening. It's fallen into an "I'll believe it when I see it" category for me.

Nico Harrison's ineptitude as a GM doesn't count as a stroke of genius for Rob Pelinka. The only person who wouldn't have accepted that deal probably shares Davis's last name—if they exist at all.

Let's not forget that the Lakers were exposed for posting the job of "Head of Strength and Conditioning" to a public forum that was then reported on, embarrassing Luka. Everyone made an immediate connection to his struggles with staying in shape. The result was a ton of laughter at Doncic. Whether it's common practice to put those jobs on that site or not, it wasn't a good look.

All of these reasons sit on top of one majorly overlooked factor in this entire scenario, though. Luka's trade to LA was not of his own volition. If you're a star looking to be traded, you usually get some say in the matter. Doncic had no say. It's easy to see him resent his time in Los Angeles due to the way it was forced on him.

Free agency would be a chance for a fresh start, and it's only one year away. If Luka decides to walk away from the Purple and Gold, maybe silver and black would suit him better. The Spurs would have to move some things around, but they've put themselves in a position to be flexible, so anything is possible.

Is the scenario unlikely? Yeah, probably. But is it completely unreasonable? Not at all.