That baton was passed as soon as L.A. finalized the trade that sent out James' handpicked sidekick, Anthony Davis, to acquire Luka Dončić, a 26-year-old megastar more than capable of piloting the Purple and Gold well past the LeBron era.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lakers struck again in free agency. They have agreed to sign veteran guard Marcus Smart to a two-year, $11 million contract following his buyout from the Washington Wizards. Read more: NBA Scout Brutally Rips Into Lakers' LeBron James for Offseason Drama

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been urged to trade for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James for five reasons. Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report outlined the

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Luka Dončić last season, they seemingly landed the future of their franchise for years to come, but Dončić staying with the team long term isn't so cut and dry.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a solid start to the NBA offseason. Rob Pelinka has made two outside moves to bring in talent, signing both Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton to begin NBA free agency. While those two additions are quality moves, more needs to be done. One area the Lakers should look to add talent is off the bench at the guard position.

The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have made a final decision about when to move on from LeBron James which is sure to prompt NBA trade rumors.

The Luka Dončić trade to Los Angeles had Dallas Mavericks superfan and Texas native Patrick Mahomes “up for a couple of hours,” processing the shocking move.

Charles Barkley, Steve Nash, Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Durant are the top notable former Phoenix Suns players on Bleacher Report's Top 100 players of all-time. First off, top five all-time: Michael Jordan (1st), LeBron James (2nd), Kareem Abdul Jabbar (3rd), Magic Johnson (4th) and Bill Russell (5th).