Even though he has played two games with them, it is hard to believe Luka Doncic is a Los Angeles Lakers player. The franchise traded for him at the start of the month in one of the most shocking moves in NBA history. Since arriving on the Lakers, Doncic has reportedly been impressed with the front office and how willing they are to listen to his requests.
According to Marc Stein, Luka immediately arrived at the Lakers and suggested to GM Rob Pelinka that the franchise needs a reliable option at center. In the days after the move, Pelinka acted quickly to land Mark Williams in a trade with the Hornets. The trade had to be rescinded later due to a failed medical, but Doncic was impressed with how quickly the Lakers were acting on his suggestions.
“After the Los Angeles Lakers acquired star guard Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in a stunning trade this season, the 25-year-old reportedly signaled to the Lakers that he wanted the team to acquire a big man.”
“L.A. responded by striking a deal with the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams. Unfortunately, after the trade deadline passed, the trade fell through, with the Lakers failing Williams on his physical.”
“Yet there has been no tangible dismay from the Doncic camp about his new team walking away from the Williams deal.”
In fact, Doncic actually had no major expectations of the Lakers to make another move before the trade deadline. And when the deal for Williams fell through, Doncic was not upset. If anything, he was impressed that Pelinka was even able to acquire center that fast.
“Sources told The Stein Line that Doncic, in his first discussion about roster construction with Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, told Pelinka that he understood it might take until the summer to make that addition… and came away impressed by how swiftly the Lakers initially moved to try to address that void.”
Pelinka’s ability to impress Doncic through his willingness to take his suggestions to heart bodes well for the Lakers. When the Dallas Mavericks traded him, Luka Doncic missed out on the chance to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension. This means the most he can re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers is five years, $229 million.
Doncic has not made any guarantees about his future with the Los Angeles Lakers. If he is not happy with the way the franchise is building around him, he can opt to leave them when he hits free agency in 2026. So far, things appear to be going well for him with the Lakers.
Luka recently opened up about being traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers, talking about how difficult that transition was. If Rob Pelinka and the front office can keep Doncic happy and make him feel important in a way that the Mavericks didn’t, he will want to continue with them for the foreseeable future and re-sign whenever given the opportunity.
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