![\"LeBron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/LeBron-James-Luka-Doncic.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGETTY\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
LeBron James and Luka Doncic during the 2025 NBA playoffs between the Lakers and Timberwolves.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> had a busy offseason, surrounding LeBron James<\/a> and Luka Doncic<\/a> with players who fit their playing style. One of the free agents the Lakers<\/a> signed this summer was Jake LaRavia<\/a>, who will be entering his fourth season in the NBA<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Michael Shearer of HoopsHype<\/a>, LaRavia could be one of seven breakout candidates next season. The 23-year-old forward joined other young players such as Brandon Miller<\/a>, Andrew Nembhard<\/a> and Bennedict Mathurin<\/a>, among others.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shearer liked LaRavia\u2019s fit with James and Doncic, who have a history of making players better offensively. However, he cautioned the Wake Forest product to adjust his game defensively and increase his 3-point shot volume in his first season in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cLaRavia will have to adjust his game some. He\u2019ll need to step up defensively and be more willing to launch catch-and-shoot threes. If he does, he could become the next in a long line of role players who have career years playing next to James and Doncic,\u201d Shearer wrote on September 5.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-8 forward signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Lakers<\/a>. He spent his first two and a half seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> before getting shipped to the Sacramento Kings<\/a>. <\/p>\n It was part of the three-team deal with the Washington Wizards<\/a> at the February trade deadline. He has career averages of 6.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 37.1% from threes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Los Angeles Lakers Signed Jake LaRavia To Replace Dorian Finney-Smith<\/p>\n The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> failed to bring back Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a> in free agency after he signed with the Houston Rockets<\/a>. Michael Shearer thought that Jake LaRavia<\/a> was brought in to replace Finney-Smith\u2019s minutes and production. He might not be a better defender, but he\u2019s a better passer and likes to move without the ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLaRavia shot 42 percent from deep last season and posted career-best passing, rebounding, and defensive numbers on a per-possession basis. LaRavia should provide more ball-handling and secondary playmaking potential than the man he\u2019s replacing, Dorian Finney-Smith. He\u2019s usually a hiding spot for an opponent\u2019s worst defender, but LaRavia is 6-foot-8. He\u2019s capable of bullying if he has a size mismatch, and he\u2019s a crafty off-ball mover,\u201d Shearer wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dalton Knecht<\/a> was the backup small forward last season. Knecht had a solid rookie campaign, but he fell off coach JJ Redick\u2019s rotation starting from mid-March until the end of the regular season.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Lakers made an important decision this offseason<\/p>\n After LeBron James<\/a> opted into his $52.6 million player option<\/a> toward the end of June, the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> cemented their future. The Lakers<\/a> signed Luka Doncic<\/a> to a three-year, $165 million contract extension<\/a>.<\/p>\n Doncic wanted an athletic center since joining the purple and gold franchise in February, and the Lakers<\/a> finally got one by signing Deandre Ayton<\/a> in free agency. They also added key role players who fit in with James and Doncic like Jake LaRavia<\/a> and Marcus Smart<\/a>.<\/p>\n There were trade rumors surrounding James this offseason, but Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul quickly squashed the speculations on\u00a0The Tylil Show<\/a> at the end of July by pointing to his client\u2019s no-trade clause.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJuan Paolo David<\/a> Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He’s currently based in the Philippines. More about Juan Paolo David<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GETTY LeBron James and Luka Doncic during the 2025 NBA playoffs between the Lakers and Timberwolves. The Los…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-194495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}