Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers front office are busy trying to put a championship-contending roster together, although arguably their most important business this offseason involves Luka Doncic.
The Slovenian star is eligible for a contract extension in August, and the Lakers would obviously love to lock him up long-term after trading for Doncic at the deadline last season.
The Lakers need to put together a roster that is good enough to convince Doncic to sign on the dotted line, but all indications are that he is expected to do that, especially after the organization’s recent sale to Mark Walter, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
On Aug. 2, the Lakers can offer Doncic a four-year, $229 million extension. Doncic could also opt to sign a three-year, $165 million extension with a player option in 2028, per Marks, which would then allow him to sign a max deal in 2028 that would give him 35% of the salary cap for five seasons.
While the exact salary scenario Doncic and the Lakers land on remains to be seen, there’s no signs of a split anytime soon. A source close to Doncic told ESPN that Walter’s purchase was a positive development.
“You always want the wealthiest owners, so that speaks for itself,” the source said. “And his track record speaks for itself. … [Doncic] wants to win. This owner’s proven that he wants to win. So this is a plus-plus.”
Additionally, Doncic remains motivated by how the Dallas Mavericks treated him in the aftermath of the trade and how the Lakers’ season ended, and has committed to an offseason training and nutrition program, sources told ESPN.
Doncic has already been through an ownership change before in Dallas and that led to him being shockingly traded, so it is good to see that he is seemingly on board and excited about the Lakers’ sale to Walter.
Of course, the Lakers will need to make adequate moves this offseason in order for Doncic to want to sign the extension, but he has maintained since the trade that he likes L.A. and wants to stay long-term.
Luka Doncic committed to conditioning this offseason
If the Lakers are gonna get back into championship contention, not only will they need to upgrade their roster, but they also will need Luka Doncic playing at the First Team All-NBA level that he has for most of his career.
And in order for that to happen, he will need to be in better shape than he was this past season. The good news is that recent reports indicate that Doncic is committed to his conditioning this offseason, already undergoing an impressive body transformation.
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