Luka Doncic is officially acting like someone who has no intentions of leaving the Los Angeles Lakers in 2026 free agency—or anytime soon. We can all thank Marcus Smart for this tip.
In a somewhat-stunning twist that will leave Boston Celtics fans reaching for double the recommended dose of Dramamine, Smart is headed to Hollywood on a two-year, $11 million deal after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Washington Wizards, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The kicker: Doncic was instrumental in convincing the 31-year-old to join the Lakers, delivering a “direct recruiting pitch” that “resonated with the veteran guard,” per Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
This is an excellent addition at team-friendly value for Los Angeles. Smart isn’t the same player who won Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, but he can still wreak havoc against guards and some forwards, and his offensive efficiency should improve on a Lakers squad that won’t need him to dribble basically ever.
Equally critical, though, is Doncic’s involvement in the entire process.
The Lakers will know where Luka Doncic stands soon…if they don’t already
The 26-year-old megastar can sign a four-year, $223 million extension starting on Aug. 2. He can also wait, decline his player option next summer, and enter 2026 unrestricted free agency, where he could re-up with the Lakers on a five-year deal worth a projected $287.9 million. He can even just sign a shorter extension that gets him back into free agency for 2028, when he could sign a five-year, $384.7 million contract reserved for players with 10 or more years of total service.
Regardless of the path Luka travels down, it now seems like the end destination remains the same: a return to Los Angeles.
Think about it. Would Doncic really be out here recruiting other players in the dead of July if he wasn’t intending to stick around?
Sure, he could be thinking purely in one-year terms. Even if he has wandering eyes, he’ll want to have the most competitive team possible around him next season. It’s also not like Smart’s a co-star the Lakers locked down for the foreseeable future. His contract includes a player option, so he could technically be gone by this time next year.
Still, throwing your superstar weight around with other players is different. It’s not something you do if you’re even considering, let alone plotting, an escape in the near future.
All signs point to Luka and the Lakers remaining together
Talking heads, along with fans of other teams who want Doncic, will argue against this being an open-and-shut case. Their push-back will crescendo into a furor if he doesn’t sign an extension.
The Lakers and their own fans are free to ignore it. They know better. Because Doncic is telling them so.
Luka just said he wants to be known as “the guy that brought championships to the city, for sure.” Not championship. But championships. Plural.
Between comments like this and his sales pitch to Smart, Luka isn’t just suggesting he might be kind of, sort of, happy with the Lakers. He is informing us, in what feels like no uncertain terms, that he’s not going anywhere.