The single biggest piece of Los Angeles Lakers business — bigger than Jeanie Buss selling the team, bigger than the LeBron James drama, bigger than Austin Reaves’ declined contract extension and bigger than landing a starting center — has yet to occur.
Luka Dončić, who became the face of the Lakers’ present and future the moment Rob Pelinka and the organization shocked the NBA by acquiring him from Dallas last February, is eligible to sign a contract extension with the franchise on Aug. 2.
While Dončić hasn’t directly addressed his future with the franchise this summer — time he’s spent in Europe putting together an all-time revenge glow-up — his actions behind the scenes crystalize why the Lakers are confident with how things stand.
Dončić, according to league sources, had communicated his desires for a capable rim-running center, shooting help and defensive support. The Lakers responded by filling those needs with Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and, soon, Marcus Smart.
Welcome home, Deandre and Jake 💜 pic.twitter.com/V2U56EnrFX
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 9, 2025
In addition to that, league sources said, Dončić has been an active recruiter for the Lakers this summer and helped secure commitments from Ayton and Smart after both unexpectedly hit free agency via contract buyouts.
The Lakers also posted an interview with Dončić on Saturday (taped during the season) that ended with him saying that he hoped his legacy with the Lakers would leave him known as “the guy that brought championships to the city.”
All of it has the Lakers confident they’re in alignment with Dončić in their plans to build a championship roster.
None of this is to say that Dončić was going to patiently wait for next summer or a talent-rich 2027 free agency crop for the Lakers to begin stacking their team. While Dončić and the Lakers understand their long-term flexibility needs, the short-term movement has, on paper, signaled a commitment to competing in the short term, provided some things break their way.
If — and it’s a word you hear a lot when you speak to people about the Lakers’ summer to date — a few key things happen, contention could be closer than a quick first-round exit last spring would suggest.
The argument for the Lakers goes something like this:
- Dončić has committed to getting into fantastic shape thanks to a strict diet and exercise routine ahead of EuroBasket, and has shaken off most of, if not all, the shock from a trade he never believed was possible.
- Reaves and James will have a full training camp to learn how to best play off of Dončić and vice versa, the Lakers having three highly intelligent, adaptable pieces getting the benefit of time together.
- Rui Hachimura quietly had his best season in the league on both sides of the court and had his second-straight season making more than 40 percent from three.
- Ayton is a massive wild card, but the last time he played basketball with a pick-and-roll maestro, he was the starting center for an NBA Finals team with the Phoenix Suns. Heading into a contract year, he’ll never have more financial motivation to be consistently engaged.
- LaRavia will get his first consistent crack at real role-player minutes around talent and should see the quality of his looks jump while getting a chance to dig in defensively on the glass.
- Smart was the Defensive Player of the Year just three seasons ago, but he’s barely been on the court since. If the Lakers can get a run of good luck with Smart playing a reduced load, that, like the Ayton and LaRavia deals, has a chance to be tremendous value.
- Perhaps most importantly, the Lakers are in this position without having to surrender their 2031 first-round draft pick, Dalton Knecht or any other limited trade assets.
Whether or not the Lakers’ moves are good enough to vault them up toward the Oklahoma City Thunder or allow them to keep pace with the Rockets, Nuggets and Clippers — who all made splashy moves this summer — remains to be seen. However, it does seem clear that, at least for now, they’ve sold Dončić on a vision he trusts.
Come the first weekend in August, he can sign an extension to cement that.
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
