RealGM

According to Sportklub, Luka Doncic will travel to the United States before his first training session with the Slovenian national team—reportedly to sign a new contract with the Lakers.

Multiple earlier reports indicate that Doncic is expected to sign a maximum four-year contract worth $229 million.

The first day the Lakers are eligible to offer the deal is August 2, and Doncic is expected to sign it on that day.

A transformed Luka Dončić returns to the USA - Sportklub

Slovenian basketball star Luka Dončić will travel to the United States before his first training session with the Slovenian national team, apparently to sign a new contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

In recent times, the 26-year-old Ljubljana star has had more than enough time to "work through" the most turbulent period of his career on his own. He didn't look for the LA Lakers. They looked for him. What has been happening in recent months could be the beginnings of a long-term partnership with the exposed image of Luka Dončić in a new big chapter of one of the most recognizable sports franchises in the world.

Although last season taught us that there is no sealed future in the NBA, even if the back of your jersey says "Dončić", it still seems that Luka and the LA Lakers will announce a long-term journey together in just over a week. The Ljubljana native is already waiting for a new multi-year contract in California. He is expected to sign it on August 2nd.

In this light, it becomes crystal clear and reasonable to explain that the first star of the Slovenian national team will join the preparations for EuroBasket 2025 with a delay. Basically, NBA basketball players can prepare with the national team for 28 days. Luka will shorten this period slightly. "I expect him to arrive after August 4, when he has completed all his obligations in the USA," said coach Aleksander Sekulić yesterday.

The American media speculated that Luka, who has been sculpting his body in recent weeks, losing several kilograms and reducing his body fat percentage, might be delaying signing a new contract since September. There were even hints that he might wait until next summer, when he would be a completely free player and available to all clubs. But it seems that the uncertainty will soon be over. Dončić is said to have agreed to a four-year extension worth 229 million US dollars.

OkcSinceSGA wrote:If true that sucks. Was gonna look forward to him hitting free agency. Lakers having another MVP tier guy literally every year basically is always going to be annoying. When the league was starting to get incredible parity momentum and small market momentum the Lakers make a random trade for a 25 year old superstar.

bonita_the_frog wrote:

OkcSinceSGA wrote:If true that sucks. Was gonna look forward to him hitting free agency. Lakers having another MVP tier guy literally every year basically is always going to be annoying. When the league was starting to get incredible parity momentum and small market momentum the Lakers make a random trade for a 25 year old superstar.

Lakers will need a lot more than that, because they can't rely on Doncic to score against Houston's freakishly athletic defense, and the Lakers have nobody to guard Durant...
And Dallas have probably the best defense in the NBA, and know everything about Doncic, and OKC obviously remain far ahead of the Lakers.

So i can't see the Lakers reaching the top of the West in this era... and signing Doncic long-term makes it impossible for the Lakers to be a great defensive team.
So the team that rejected Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks are more likely to win a championship than the Lakers, and so are Houston and OKC.

And we already saw Minnesota beat the Lakers 4-1.
And the Spurs are obviously more well-placed than the Lakers too...
So other than making sure the Lakers never have a great defensive team, signing Doncic long-term doesn't impact the NBA.

Handlez wrote:Signing early is smart because what if he suffered a terrible injury before signing.

Now he'll be guaranteed his money.

But I wanted him to leave LA and go where he had a chance to win titles. As of now, LA isn't even close to contending and Bron is holding them hostage.

bonita_the_frog wrote:

OkcSinceSGA wrote:If true that sucks. Was gonna look forward to him hitting free agency. Lakers having another MVP tier guy literally every year basically is always going to be annoying. When the league was starting to get incredible parity momentum and small market momentum the Lakers make a random trade for a 25 year old superstar.

Lakers will need a lot more than that, because they can't rely on Doncic to score against Houston's freakishly athletic defense, and the Lakers have nobody to guard Durant...
And Dallas have probably the best defense in the NBA, and know everything about Doncic, and OKC obviously remain far ahead of the Lakers.

So i can't see the Lakers reaching the top of the West in this era... and signing Doncic long-term makes it impossible for the Lakers to be a great defensive team.
So the team that rejected Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks are more likely to win a championship than the Lakers, and so are Houston and OKC.

And we already saw Minnesota beat the Lakers 4-1.
And the Spurs are obviously more well-placed than the Lakers too...
So other than making sure the Lakers never have a great defensive team, signing Doncic long-term doesn't impact the NBA.

Black Jack wrote:Rich single athletes do NOT leave the Lakers willingly.

Just be serious folks.

Mamba Mentality wrote:Shoutout to the Dallas Mavericks for ensuring that the Lakers got the best superstar contract in the NBA. Its game on as soon as Lebron it out the picture.

OkcSinceSGA wrote:If true that sucks. Was gonna look forward to him hitting free agency. Lakers having another MVP tier guy literally every year basically is always going to be annoying. When the league was starting to get incredible parity momentum and small market momentum the Lakers make a random trade for a 25 year old superstar.