Luka Doncic will be eligible to sign a four-year, $228 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers on Aug. 2. It had seemed like a foregone conclusion that Doncic would put pen to paper on a new deal, but that’s no longer the case. There is some doubt on whether Doncic will extend, and CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn explains why he shouldn’t.
“Luka should not extend this offseason,” Quinn stated. “I am NOT saying he should leave the Lakers. I am saying there’s no good reason for him to extend yet. He’s been there six months. What have the Lakers done so far to prove they’re the best team for him? He didn’t choose to go there.”
Doncic was, of course, more than happy to stay with the Dallas Mavericks. The Slovenian never asked for a trade and got the shock of his life when he was sent to the Lakers in February. Quinn believes Doncic should now wait till the Lakers show him they can build a good enough roster around him.
“If I’m Luka, I’m not extending this offseason,” Quinn added. “Period. I feel no loyalty to a team I just joined against my will. That doesn’t mean he should absolutely leave. It means the Lakers should have to prove they deserve him. Give them a year to build a contender. If they can’t? Walk.”
So far this offseason, the Lakers have signed Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia but lost Dorian Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith and Doncic have been good friends since their days with the Mavericks, and the Lakers completely botched contract negotiations with the former.
You wonder how that whole situation went down with Doncic. Sure, the Lakers are now seemingly focusing on his best interests and not LeBron James‘, but their actions thus far might not necessarily have filled him with a lot of confidence.
This Lakers team is still in desperate need of quality defenders and has little to no shot of winning a title until that issue is addressed. Waiting to see how the front office goes about doing that and what other improvements they can make could well be the best approach for Doncic.
If Doncic does decide against signing an extension this summer, though, then alarm bells will start ringing within the Lakers organization. The 26-year-old has a $48.9 million player option for 2026-27 that he can opt out of to become a free agent in 2026, and losing him for nothing would be a total disaster.
A whole host of teams would be interested in acquiring Doncic, who averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Mavericks and Lakers in 2024-25, should he hit the open market. The Los Angeles Clippers are a team that can compete with the Lakers for the five-time All-Star’s services in 2026.
So, it will be interesting to see how this situation pans out. Even if Doncic wants to stay, there is a good chance he won’t agree to that extension on Aug. 2. He will be gearing up to play at EuroBasket for Slovenia at that time, and so, Lakers fans shouldn’t panic if there is no word regarding an extension. The tournament ends in September, and Doncic will likely look into signing a new deal after that.
