The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to make changes across their roster once the offseason truly begins following the NBA Finals. There's plenty of room for improvement between the Lakers' frontcourt and backcourt situations, making it interesting to see who general manager Rob Pelinka will target between the 2025 draft, free agency, and trade market in the coming weeks.
When it comes to assessing potential additions, Pelinka will likely do so with Luka Doncic in mind. While appeasing LeBron James is important, too, Doncic is much younger than the four-time NBA MVP and will be around L.A. for longer, meaning it's important for the Lakers to find players who fit with his timeline.
One way that Los Angeles can make the Slovenian superstar's life more comfortable would be to reunite him with a former Dallas Mavericks teammate who might be hitting the open market next month.
Lakers Must Reunite Luka Doncic With Tim Hardaway Jr. After Latest Offseason Rumors
The Detroit Pistons are one team with several key veterans slated to hit the open market next month, including battle-proven wing Tim Hardaway Jr. Although the Pistons have time to re-sign the 33-year-old sharpshooter, Stein Line's Jake Fischer is reporting that a fresh start is the most likely scenario for the two sides.
"Based on our conversations around the league, it seems that Hardaway Jr. ranks behind (Dennis) Schröder and (Malik) Beasley as the most likely Pistons to return," Stein wrote on Sunday.
Assuming that Fischer's report is right and that Hardway is on his way out of the Motor City, the Lakers should do whatever it takes to reunite Doncic with a sharpshooter he's more than familiar with.
Hardaway, 33, has played for four teams throughout his 12-year NBA career, which includes spending six with the Mavericks. The former Michigan Wolverine established himself as one of the league's best sixth men throughout that time (while also occasionally chipping in as a starter), averaging 15.2 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 41.7% from the field and 37.3% from deep in 352 games.
During that time, Hardaway and Doncic experienced three postseasons together, which included a trip to the 2023-24 NBA Finals. That's the sort of experience Lakers head coach JJ Redick would love to inject into his lineup, especially given that he also played with the ex-Mavericks duo during the 2020-21 campaign.
His prime might be behind him, but Hardaway was still a solid offensive presence with the Pistons last season. He played a key role in helping Detroit return to the playoffs, averaging 11.0 points on .406/.368/.855 splits in 77 games before tallying 12.0 PPG on 33.8% shooting in six playoff appearances.
With Hardaway's next contract unlikely to match the $16.1 million cap hit he held last season, he could be an affordable free-agent target for the Lakers next month. Even if the Pistons would prefer to part ways in a sign-and-trade should he command more money, someone like Jarred Vanderbilt or Gabe Vincent could be moved to facilitate a deal.
Some of Doncic's best basketball was played alongside Hardaway and vice versa. If the Lakers want to be taken seriously as championship contenders next season, reuniting the former Dallas teammates would be a major step to accomplishing that goal.
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