NBA

After being eliminated from the playoffs in Wednesday's Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers are staring at a costly offseason.

ESPN's Bobby Marks explained that in addition to LeBron James' $52.6 million player option, the Lakers could be on the hook for Luka Doncic's big-money contract extension.

"Doncic is not a free agent but is eligible to sign up to a four-year, $229 million extension on Aug. 2," Marks wrote. "In the unlikely scenario a contract is not reached, Doncic will become a free agent in the summer of 2026."

Marks also noted that Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves is eligible for a contract extension this summer and can become a free agent next offseason if one isn't reached.

The Lakers acquired Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in hopes of giving James a better chance to earn a fifth career NBA championship. Despite achieving the No. 3 seed in the West, the top-heavy roster was unable to keep up with the depth of the No. 6 Timberwolves before being upset in the first round of the playoffs.

Doncic, who dealt with an illness during the postseason, led the Lakers with an average of 30.2 points across the five-game series. However, his average of 5.8 assists was a career-low in the playoffs.

Despite the disappointing finish, it would be a massive surprise if Los Angeles didn't make a long-term commitment to Doncic. The 26-year-old is expected to assume the mantle as the face of the franchise when James retires, so the Lakers likely will be building their future around him.

Even though there's outside concern about Damian Lillard's status for the 2025-26 season after tearing his Achilles in the Milwaukee Bucks' Game 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, he is looking to make it back quicker than expected.

Per The Athletic's Eric Nehm and Sam Amick, Lillard is "optimistic" about making a "speedy recovery" from the injury.

The Bucks confirmed on Monday that Lillard tore his Achilles and will undergo surgery.

This marked the second straight year that an Achilles injury forced Lillard to miss time in the playoffs, though last season's injury wasn't nearly as severe, with only a strain keeping him out for Games 4 and 5 against the Pacers.

NBA insider Chris Haynes said that Lillard is "motivated" to attack his rehab and return to his usual form.

Given when Lillard tore his Achilles and the typical timeframe other players have had in their recovery, there's a possibility he misses all of 2025-26.

The most famous example of a player who suffered a major Achilles injury late in one season and returned the following year was Kobe Bryant. He tore his Achilles in April 2013 and returned to game action eight months later.

More recently, though, teams have been cautious to rush players back. Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant both missed the 2019-20 season after suffering Achilles tears in the 2019 NBA Finals.

Lillard is the same age (34) as Bryant when his Achilles injury occurred. Missing a full season would mean he doesn't play again until he is 36 years old.

Injuries are starting to pile up for Lillard, who just completed his 13th NBA season. The nine-time All-Star started 58 games this season, marking the third time in the last four years he has played in fewer than 60 games.

Lillard averaged 24.9 points on 37.6 percent three-point shooting, 7.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in 58 appearances for the Bucks.

Before star point guard Damian Lillard tore his Achilles tendon in Game 4 of their first-round series loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks reportedly planned to explore whether it would've been best to trade him this offseason.

According to The Athletic's Eric Nehm and Sam Amick, "Had Lillard remained healthy, and had the Bucks still fallen in the first round, league sources say there would have been discussions about whether Lillard wanted to remain in Milwaukee."

The Bucks' season ended with Tuesday night's overtime loss to the Pacers in Game 5 of their first-round series. Lillard suffered his injury just six minutes into Game 4, derailing Milwaukee's chances of making a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.

Nehm and Amick explained that Lillard and star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo showed signs of improvement in their connection throughout the season, but it wasn't enough to overcome the team's roster deficiencies. The Bucks finished sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 48-34 record and struggled to keep up against elite teams, leading to questions about whether Lillard should remain part of the team's future.

"The relationship between Antetokounmpo and Lillard is strong, as is the respect level, but the imperfections of their on-court pairing remained in their second season together," Nehm and Amick wrote. "And with the group’s collective limitations growing more evident by the month, a conversation was looming about whether Lillard and the Bucks might be better off parting ways."

Instead, Lillard is looking at a lengthy recovery over the next year. He will turn 35 in July, so it will be an uphill battle for him to make his way back to the court next season.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gave his thoughts Wednesday night on the NBA rule that allows for contact to be made after a shot is released.

During the Warriors' 131-116 road loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday, Rockets forward Dillon Brooks contacted Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry's right hand following a shot.

No foul was called, but it was significant since Curry has been nursing an injured right thumb for much of the season.

While speaking to reporters after the game, Kerr declined to say Brooks was purposely targeting Curry's thumb, but he did call for the NBA to make a rule change for next season, saying:

"So the rule is once the shot has been released, you're allowed to hit a guy's arm. And so what's happened in the league this year is, players always are, they're going to outsmart the rules. They know what they're doing. So players all over the league are just taking shots at guys' shooting hands after the release because they know it's not going to be a foul. And I'm very confident that next year the league will fix it because it's only a matter of time before somebody breaks a thumb or breaks a hand or whatever. But these are the rules.

"I do believe they're allowed to call a flagrant if they want. The refs can call flagrant if a guy winds up and takes a shot. But no, it's been happening across the league all year long. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, but we have to take it through the league process to get that changed."

Per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, Curry first injured his thumb in January before aggravating it with two games remaining in the regular season.

Curry has had to play with a wrap around the thumb since then, making it a potential target for opponents.

A Warriors announcer expressed their belief during the broadcast that the Rockets were purposely taking shots at Curry's thumb in Games 4 and 5.

Brooks was dismissive of the criticism, saying: "I've been playing the game. If [someone] had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time. So, whatever they're saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it."

It is fair to wonder if the thumb ailment has adversely impacted Curry during the playoffs, as three of his five performances have been well below his usual standards.

In Game 4, Curry finished with just 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field and 2-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, and he followed that up with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor and 3-of-9 shooting from deep in Game 5.

Golden State still leads the series 3-2, but it will undoubtedly need more from Curry in order to close things out against the second-seeded Rockets in Game 6 or 7 regardless of his health.

Little did LeBron James know how much the Netflix documentary Starting 5 would foreshadow the 2025 NBA playoffs.

After eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, the Minnesota Timberwolves shared Anthony Edwards' epic intro into the series. In the clip, James suggests he "could possibly sit down for a little longer" if a younger star "was better fit for the moment than me." Cue Edwards pulling out of his garage in a Lamborghini and saying off-screen he wanted to "cook LeBron one-on-one."

The Timberwolves star proceeded to do just that for the most part. He averaged 26.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists in five games against the Lakers. He dropped 43 points in Game 4, when Minnesota went up 3-1 and took firm control of the series.

As for James, it seems unlikely he'll step aside considering he has a $52.6 million player option for 2025-26. He may not want to end his career with a first-round exit, either. With a full offseason to fill out the supporting cast around James and Luka Dončić, Los Angeles figures to be stronger a year from now.

But this postseason was another reminder the 21-time All-Star can't play forever.

Calling anybody the "next LeBron" or anointing someone as an heir apparent is too high a burden to place onto one player. Edwards at least has the talent and swagger to help fill the vacuum that gets created when James retires from the NBA.

Los Angeles Lakers legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson took to social media to sound off about the Lakers' quick playoff exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In a post on X, Johnson congratulated superstar guard Anthony Edwards and the T-Wolves, while also criticizing the Lakers for playing "awful on defense" and getting "dominated" on the boards:

The sixth-seeded Timberwolves closed out the first-round series on the road Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 103-96 in Game 5 to emphatically win the series 4-1.

While the Lakers held the Timberwolves to 40.4 percent shooting in Game 5, Minnesota won the rebounding battle 54-37 thanks largely to four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert's game-high 24 boards.

In order to acquire Luka Dončić as LeBron James' running mate back in February, the Lakers had to part with their best interior player by far in likely future Hall of Famer Anthony Davis.

Los Angeles attempted to replace some of what he brought to the table by trading for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams at the deadline, but the deal was rescinded when Williams failed a physical, leaving the Lakers without a viable center.

That was likely the biggest difference against the Timberwolves, but Minnesota was also bolstered by its 23-year-old, three-time All-Star in Edwards.

Prior to the start of the series, Johnson was prophetic in expressing concern about whether the Lakers would be able to slow Edwards down:

Not surprisingly, Edwards led the T-Wolves with 26.8 points per game during the series to go along with 8.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals.

Edwards' performance was largely expected after what he did last season in leading Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals by virtue of his 27.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.

The Oklahoma City Thunder still stand out as the team to beat in the Western Conference after going an NBA-best 68-14, but the Timberwolves may be the team best equipped to take them down.

As for the Lakers, they are set to return a strong core next season provided James wants to keep playing, as he will be joined by Dončić, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.

That suggests they should be a playoff team and a potential championship contender once again, but the first-round exit against Minnesota made it clear that general manager Rob Pelinka needs to bring in some legitimate interior help.