The Los Angeles Lakers made a big statement when they traded Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic, and now they are focused on making their future star happy. Doncic has traditionally played with athletic big men during his career, and the Lakers went out and got Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets to give Doncic a pick-and-roll partner for the next decade.

The Williams trade was called off due to issues with his physical, but the intent from the Lakers was clear. They want to build the team around Doncic and keep him happy as his current contract winds down. However, LeBron James has been asking the Lakers to make these kinds of moves for years and has not gotten his way, and his camp took note of that according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

“What is clear is that Doncic will have a say,” McMenamin wrote. “And it wasn't lost on James' camp, sources said, that [Rob] Pelinka prioritized Doncic's involvement upon his arrival and immediately engaged in the Williams trade that he'd asked for, when James had for years wanted the team to trade its picks to improve its roster.”

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Despite the Lakers' best efforts, they are still left with no center now outside of Jaxson Hayes and Christian Koloko. The buy out market will be thin at the position, especially for a first apron team like the Lakers. However, Doncic may have his pick out of guys like  Mo Bamba and Daniel Theis.

If the Lakers do find a reliable option that can split minutes with Hayes on the interior, James and Doncic obviously form a talented pairing that no team will want to play against in a playoff series. The two of them both have the ability to take over just about any game and any series and that makes the Lakers very dangerous to any opponent.

The Western Conference is wide open outside of the surging Oklahoma City Thunder, so the Lakers should be able to compete with just about anyone else in a series if they have James and Doncic healthy. Even if they don't reach their goals this season, it's clear that Rob Pelinka and company are focused on putting a contending roster around Doncic for the foreseeable future.