Promising to join the Lakers, Pelinka is playing a big game, James becomes a foil

At present, the Nuggets star Nicholas Jokic has officially confirmed that he will not renew his contract with the team during this offseason. Once this news came out, salary experts analyzed that if the contract is not renewed this year, he is expected to sign a four-year super maximum salary contract with a total price of up to US$280 million next offseason. This is also seen as his core goal.

At the same time, considering that the Lakers are currently unwilling to renew their contract with James in advance and plan to break up with him next year to free up huge salary space to compete for the superstar signing freely. It can be seen that Lakers general manager Pelinka may be planning the next big move - by sacrificing James, waiting to sign Jokic in the offseason next year. At that time, the Lakers are expected to form a dual-core combination composed of Luka Doncic and Jokic. The performance of these two stars on the offensive end is undoubtedly, but the defensive end may be a little insufficient. In order to make up for the defensive loopholes, the Lakers will inevitably need to introduce several powerful defensive players. As soon as the news came out, the Lakers fan group immediately became excited. Some fans were very excited and believed that if Jokic could be introduced and partnered with Doncic, the offensive scene would be as beautiful as a painting and the score would be as easy as cutting melons. But some people are worried that both of these stars focus on offense, and defense may become a shortcoming. If there is no suitable defensive gate, they may be defeated by their opponents in the playoffs.

The management of other teams is also closely monitoring this matter, speculating that if the Lakers really combine this pair of "dream dual cores", the Western Conference pattern will usher in huge changes. The Nuggets are probably in a state of turmoil. If Jokic does not renew his contract, the future will be full of uncertainty.

General Manager Pelinka is currently under great pressure. On the one hand, he should appease James, and on the other hand, he should actively look for strong defensive players. If Jokic can be introduced next summer and a few defensive tough guys are added, the Lakers may usher in a qualitative leap and their goal of vowing to the championship will be closer.