Luka Doncic Extends with Lakers: Why and What to Expect?

Luka Doncic: A New Chapter in Los Angeles

The arrival of Luka Doncic in New York last Sunday marked the beginning of a pivotal week. For the first time since entering the NBA, the superstar interrupted his summer vacation in Europe to return to the United States before the start of training camp. This trip, according to sources close to the player, was a promotional tour for the Jordan brand, of which Doncic is an ambassador. The visit included a stop at Yankee Stadium alongside Aaron Judge, also a Jordan image, and then a tour of Chicago and Los Angeles. What began as a series of promotional commitments turned into a display of the 26-year-old player’s renewed physique and the confirmation that Los Angeles will be more than a temporary home after his surprising transfer from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers on February 1st. Doncic is scheduled to sign a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers on Saturday, the first day the team could offer him a new deal. The third year of the contract will be a player option. Three months after his first playoff appearance with the Lakers ended abruptly, with the defeat of the team, seeded number 3, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, seeded number 6, in five games, the discipline in Doncic’s diet and his notable physical transformation, highlighted on the cover of Men’s Health, were a clear declaration of intent. He demonstrated that he was fulfilling what he had promised in his last press conference of the season.

“Everyone needs to improve,” Doncic said at the time. “We’ll have a long summer and we need to focus on what we can improve as a team and as individuals. Everyone.”

Luka Doncic

Now that Doncic has secured his stay, clearing the Lakers’ biggest priority this offseason, some key questions arise for his first full season in Los Angeles.

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Why sign for three years instead of four?

According to Bobby Marks, NBA expert, the largest contract the Lakers could have offered Doncic was for four years and $229 million. So, why leave an additional $64 million in guaranteed money on the table, considering he already gave up the possibility of signing a five-year, $345 million supermax extension if he had stayed in Dallas, not to mention the difference in state taxes between California and Texas? By signing a 2+1 extension, Doncic could become an unrestricted free agent in 2028 or 2029, at which point he will already have 10 years of service in the league. Considering a projected 10% growth in the salary cap, Doncic is expected to get another big contract. The Lakers could renegotiate their deal in the summer of 2027 and offer him a four-year, $323 million extension. On the other hand, if Doncic fulfills the additional two guaranteed years of his contract and declines his player option for 2028-29, he could sign a five-year extension for around $418 million in the season he turns 29. That potential deal could make him the first player in league history to earn a salary of $80 million per season, earning almost $1 million per game. The last year of the contract would approach nine digits, with $95 million, a considerable price for the face of a $10 billion franchise.

What are Doncic’s expectations for next season?

Processing the transfer from Dallas took Doncic time. Due to the way the franchise and its 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, just like Dirk Nowitzki, a franchise icon. Furthermore, after starting his professional career with Real Madrid as a teenager, he never considered the possibility of being transferred, according to a source close to Doncic. Transfers like that rarely, or never, happen in the ACB League. When the shock subsided, a source familiar with Doncic said his mindset shifted to the one he had when playing for Dallas: “win now” mode. Doncic could have signed a multi-year commitment with the Lakers, but he expects to be in contention every year. He demonstrated his urgency through his off-season conditioning regimen and by participating in the recruitment of Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart for Los Angeles. And he did it by taking a collaborative approach. After Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick took Doncic and his representative, Lara Beth Seager, to dinner in May, the 6-foot-6 point guard left with a greater understanding of the team’s finances. The team left with a better understanding of Doncic’s wishes.

“I don’t want to wait,” Doncic said at the table, according to a source familiar with the conversation. “I had a taste of the Finals. I’m going to get back there. So let’s do what we can now.”

Luka Doncic

Pelinka and Redick used the dinner to analyze future salary cap space, the picks they possessed, the ones they didn’t possess, and to discuss how to approach their future together. Doncic was encouraged to share the types of archetypal players he felt the team needed (a pick-and-pop player, a defender, and a rim protector) so that the Lakers could identify realistic players who would fit that mold.

How do the Lakers feel?

In a word: “Excited”, according to a source familiar with the Lakers’ feelings.

The organization’s goals are aligned with Doncic’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 reluctance to offer Dorian Finney-Smith a contract extending 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 yearning for another potential star. Would Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo look great in the Lakers uniform? Of course. However, the real mission is to give the team the greatest adaptability possible, whether driven by necessity or opportunity, each season, maintaining championship aspirations. As a Lakers source said: “If you don’t have options, you get stuck.” From the day the Lakers separated from Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first-round pick to acquire Doncic, it was imperative to secure this commitment. Now that they’ve done it, the next era of Lakers basketball officially begins.