ESPN's annual Future Rankings had been a sad place for Lakers fans over the last few years, even when things were going well for the team. The Lakers may have had potential in the present, but down the road, things were a lot trickier. Building around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, for a variety of reasons, came with ... complexities. Now, however, things are looking bright. Why? Because a team that has Luka Dončić not only gets a top 5 (at worst) talent, they get him ENTERING HIS PRIME. This is critical not just because it means the Lakers have one of those dudes on the team for a while (presumably), but because players looking to join the Lakers can do so knowing they have Luka around for a while, and he's going to be good. So they can attract free agents, they can attract disgruntled stars. And the presence of Luka guarantees a certain level of competitiveness every year. And now they also have big money to go with the appealing market as well. LA has always ranked well as a market in these rankings, but the Lakers lost points because the Buss family was the wrong kind of billionaire -- namely, their fortune was tied up in the franchise. Mark Walter doesn't have that problem, and over time it will allow the Lakers to match market with budget. Oh, and the rankings even have us sticking up for Rob Pelinka. Or sticking down for the Clippers and Warriors, at least. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Luka saves the day. SEGMENT 2: Why Walter's money matters. SEGMENT 3: Judge the Lakers by the same standards, people! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! 5-Hour ENERGYEnough with boring, flavorless caffeine, it’s time to give your caffeine a flavor upgrade with 5-hour ENERGY®️ shots. Get the favorites you love or be bold and try something new in-store and online at https://www.5hourENERGY.com or Amazon today.  OpenPhoneStreamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at https://www.openphone.com/lockedonnba Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.comto get started FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)