The primary focus for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason has been to sign Luka Doncic to a contract extension to ensure the superstar stays with the organization long-term after trading for him last season.
The Lakers’ moves this offseason have been geared towards satisfying Doncic as opposed to LeBron James, the other superstar in the organization that will be turning 41 later this year.
Doncic notably helped recruit both Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart to Los Angeles, signifying he is on the same page with the Lakers front office. He becomes eligible for the contract extension on Aug. 2 and all indications have been that he will sign it.
Doncic is set to report to the Slovenian National Team for this summer’s EuroBasket tournament on Aug. 4 and according to Martin Pavcnik of SportKlub, he will sign his extension before that on Aug. 2:
Although last season taught us that there is no sealed future in the NBA, even if the back of your jersey says “Dončić”, it still seems that Luka and the LA Lakers will announce a long-term journey together in just over a week. The Ljubljana native is already waiting for a new multi-year contract in California. He is expected to sign it on August 2nd.
The Slovenian coach even confirmed that Doncic has some obligations to complete in the United States before he reports to the team:
In this light, it becomes crystal clear and reasonable to explain that the first star of the Slovenian national team will join the preparations for EuroBasket 2025 with a delay. Basically, NBA basketball players can prepare with the national team for 28 days. Luka will shorten this period slightly. “I expect him to arrive after August 4, when he has completed all his obligations in the USA,” said coach Aleksander Sekulić yesterday.
With it seemingly being a foregone conclusion that Doncic will sign an extension with the Lakers, there has been speculation about how much it will be for. He will be eligible to sign a full max extension of four years and $229 million, but it may make more sense to sign a three-year deal with a player option in the third year.
The latter option would allow Doncic to reenter free agency sooner and potentially recoup the $345 million he lost when he was traded from the Dallas Mavericks. Despite that though, this report indicates that Doncic has already agreed to the full max four-year extension:
The American media speculated that Luka, who has been sculpting his body in recent weeks, losing several kilograms and reducing his body fat percentage, might be delaying signing a new contract since September. There were even hints that he might wait until next summer, when he would be a completely free player and available to all clubs. But it seems that the uncertainty will soon be over. Dončić is said to have agreed to a four-year extension worth 229 million US dollars.
This would obviously be great news for the Lakers, who traded for Doncic with visions of a long-term partnership together.
Once he is signed, the front office can operate knowing they have the 26-year-old superstar under contract for the foreseeable future.
Luka Doncic wants to be known for bringing championships to Lakers
To his credit, Luka Doncic has repeatedly expressed his loyalty to the organization after the trade, most recently saying he wants to be known for bringing championships to the Lakers.
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