2026 has been anything but a quiet summer for the Los Angeles Lakers. Everyone will talk about moves, plus the early consensus on those individual and collective signings. The bigger story here may be what all of things maneuvers can add up to, and that is a Luka Doncic contract extension.
Earlier this summer, Dan Woike of The Athletic shared that his league sources stated that Doncic was 'excited' about the moves the Lakers had made. Keeping Austin Reaves, adding his desired A-list center in Walker Kessler, reuniting him with a friend in Quentin Grimes — Luka was at the forefront of what Los Angeles was trying to do.
Building with your franchise centerpiece in mind is always good strategy. It is even more carefully calculated in the Lakers' specific set of circumstances.
Doncic was gifted to them at the 2025 NBA trade deadline. The goal from there has been simple: convince Luka to stay in Los Angeles long-term. The Slovenian superstar gave his new franchise the early benefit of the doubt with a three-year extension. The Lakers are already eyeing up the next one.
Lakers' offseason moves should help convince Luka Doncic to stay in LA
The extension Doncic signed in August of 2025 is set to kick in during the 2026-27 season. Luka will be earning around $49.5 million in the first year of his $160.3 million contract with the Lakers.
After this upcoming season, Doncic will only have two more years left on his deal. The latter of the two includes a player option for 2028-29. That essentially makes this next campaign the proving ground for why Luka should stick around with the Lakers long-term.
Players who are flight risks are typically traded to their next destination with one year left on their contract. Considering that aforementioned player option, that would make the summer before the 2027-28 season the stage for that.
The Lakers are instead hoping a Doncic extension removes all and any speculation about that. They are fully aware their competitive future is completely tied to the top-five talent that Luka is. Seeing him leave guarantees years of mediocrity, or worse, without him.
Going all-in on getting Doncic the kind of help he wants and needs in Los Angeles is the best way for the Lakers to secure his future. Some will criticize the aggressive approach of the franchise when assessing big commitments like Kessler, but those are the type of moves that can convince Luka to stay.
As long as the Lakers have Doncic under contract, they can keep searching for paths to get them closer to a championship. Worst-case scenario, they can blow things up if or when the time comes.
This offseason should pave the way for either of those options being available. Pen to paper on a new deal is what the Lakers need from Luka when the time comes, and they have been openly and unapologetically aggressive in trying to secure that.
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