The Lakers are on the precipice of an opportunity they’ve been anticipating for half a year.
Saturday is the first day Luka Doncic is eligible to extend his contract with the Lakers, who acquired Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in a stunning in-season trade on Feb. 1.
Doncic, who has a $45.9 million salary for the 2025-26 season and a $48.9 million player option for 2026-27, can sign a maximum contract extension for up to four years worth $228.6 million, with a $51 million salary replacing his player option for 2026-27.
He can also choose to sign a variety of shorter-term extensions that would make him an unrestricted free agent during the 2028 offseason, which is when he will have accrued 10 years of service and be eligible to sign a new contract starting at 35% of the salary cap vs. the 30% he’s allowed to now.
If Doncic signed a three-year, $165.3 million contract extension with the Lakers that had a player option for 2028-29, he would then be eligible to sign a five-year deal worth more than $400 million with the Lakers the summer of 2028.
Regardless of what structure the deal takes, Doncic is expected to extend his current contract with the Lakers, further solidifying the 26-year-old Slovenian star as the face of the franchise for the short and long term.
The actions from both sides suggest that a contract extension is looming.
The franchise has made Doncic the center of its short- and long-term plans since February. Even while making offseason roster upgrades with the additions of Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia, the Lakers have maintained their financial flexibility for the next couple of offseasons with the hope of building the ideal roster around Doncic.
Doncic has also been involved in the Lakers’ roster moves, helping to recruit Ayton and Smart to the franchise after offseason buyouts with their previous teams.
Doncic is in the midst of a week-long Jordan Brand tour that included stops in New York and Chicago, and concludes in Los Angeles on Sunday before he returns to Europe to continue preparations for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament.
Everything Doncic has said about his brief Lakers experience suggests that he plans to be with the franchise for the long term, including saying during an exclusive interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews in mid-April that he wants to stay in Los Angeles.
And when asked during an interview that was recorded during the season and released in July what he hopes to be known for in Los Angeles, Doncic responded: “The guy that brought championships to the city, for sure.”
And the Lakers are expecting Doncic, who has been showing off an improved physique this summer, to be around for a while.
“It’s incredibly exciting to have the promise of him in our next decade of Laker basketball with being able to build a team around him and him being at the center of our franchise,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said of Doncic after the season ended with a first-round playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. “Our partnership with him has been incredible.”
And soon, Doncic and the Lakers are expected to put pen to paper on an extension that will further solidify the partnership.