Doncic renews with Lakers: 3 key questions and championship ambition

Luka Dončić: The New Chapter for the Lakers

The arrival of Luka Dončić in New York last Sunday marked the beginning of a crucial week. For the first time since joining the NBA, the Slovenian star interrupted his summer vacation in Europe to return to the United States before the start of the training camp, according to sources close to the player. This trip was presented as a promotional tour for the Jordan brand star. Dončić began by visiting Yankee Stadium, sharing with Aaron Judge, and then headed west, first to Chicago and finally to Los Angeles. What began as a promotional tour turned into a display of the 26-year-old player’s renewed physique and the announcement that Los Angeles will be more than a temporary home after his surprising transfer from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers on February 1st. Dončić is expected to sign a three-year, $165 million contract extension in person with the Lakers on Saturday, the first day the team could offer him the deal. The third year will be a player option, according to sources. Three months after his first playoff appearance with the Lakers ended abruptly, with the defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, Dončić’s dietary discipline and his notable physical transformation, captured on the cover of Men’s Health, were a statement of intent. It demonstrated that he was taking seriously the indications given in his last press conference of the season.

“Everyone has to get better,” Dončić said at the time. “We’ll have a long summer and we have to focus on what we can improve as a team and as individuals. Everyone.”

Luka Dončić

Now that Dončić’s decision to stay has resolved the main priority for the Lakers’ offseason, three key questions arise heading into his first full season in Los Angeles.

Why sign for three years instead of four?The largest contract the Lakers could have offered Dončić was a four-year, $229 million deal. So, after missing out on the chance to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax extension had he stayed in Dallas, and not to mention the difference in state taxes between California and Texas, why would he leave an additional $64 million guaranteed on the table? By signing a 2+1 extension, Dončić can become an unrestricted free agent in 2028 or 2029, when he will already have 10 years of service in the league. Based on a 10% annual salary cap projection, another huge compensation is coming for Dončić. The Lakers can renegotiate their deal in the summer of 2027 and offer him a four-year, $323 million extension at that time. On the other hand, if Dončić plays the two additional guaranteed years on his contract and declines his player option for 2028-29, he could sign a five-year extension at that time for around $418 million in his 29th season. That potential deal could make him the first player in league history to earn a salary of $80 million per season, taking home almost a million dollars per game. The final year of the agreement would approach nine digits, with $95 million, a high price as the image of a $10 billion franchise.What are Dončić’s expectations for next season?Processing the Dallas handover took Dončić time. Based on the way the franchise and the fans treated him in his early days in the league, he thought he would retire as a Maverick after spending his entire career in Dallas, in the same way as franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki did. After starting his professional career with Real Madrid as a teenager, he didn’t even consider the possibility of being traded. When the shock subsided, Dončić’s mindset shifted to when he played in Dallas: “win now” mode. Dončić could have made a multi-year commitment to the Lakers, but he expects to be in contention every year. Dončić demonstrated his urgency through his off-season fitness regimen and by participating in the recruitment of Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart for Los Angeles. And he has done so by adopting a partnership approach. After Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick invited Dončić and his manager, Lara Beth Seager, to dinner in May, the 1.98-meter point guard left with a greater understanding of the team’s finances. The team left with a better understanding of Dončić’s wishes.

“I don’t want to wait,” Dončić said at the table.

Luka Dončić

Pelinka and Redick used the dinner to examine future salary cap space, the picks they possessed, the picks they didn’t possess, and to discuss how to approach their future together. Dončić was encouraged to share the archetypal players he felt the roster might need – a shooter and a defender – so that the Lakers could identify realistic players to fit that mold.How do the Lakers feel?In a word: “Excited”. The organization’s goals are aligned with Dončić’s in the short term, and also with LeBron James’s. “This is a team that wants to win championships,” said a Lakers source. “That hasn’t changed and won’t change in the future.” While the team’s aversion to offering Dorian Finney-Smith a deal that extended beyond 2027 – which led him to sign with the Houston Rockets – left some in the league with the impression that Los Angeles was preserving cap space to go after a big name in free agency that summer, a source familiar with the Lakers’ thinking insists that their strategy is motivated by flexibility, not by longing for another potential star. Would multiple MVP winners Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo look good in the Lakers uniform? Of course. However, the real mission is to give the team as much pivoting ability as possible, driven by need or opportunity, each season, while maintaining championship aspirations. As a Lakers source said: “If you don’t have options, you get stuck.” From the day Los Angeles separated from Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round pick to acquire Dončić, it was imperative to secure this commitment. Now that they’ve done it, the next era of Lakers basketball officially begins.