The Real Losers and Winners Of The Luka Doncic Deal

The Real Losers and Winners Of The Luka Doncic Deal

This past season, Luca Donic became part of the most stunning trade in NBA history when he was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers, a franchise he didn’t even choose to be a part of. And everything that has happened since then has been a whirlwind. The Lakers played well and earned a third seed entering the playoffs, but then they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. But even before that, they traded for a potential long-term center in Mark Williams, but then they canled the deal over health concerns. All the while, Luca got to play with LeBron, but then James is seemingly unhappy with the current direction where the Lakers are going. Overall, all those things created a bit of uncertainty surrounding Luca’s long-term status in LA, especially considering he was scheduled to become a free agent by the summer of 2026, which gave the Lakers only 18 months of team control over him. So, had Luca not signed an extension before that, that could have meant he was simply planning to leave LA the first chance he gets. But then, Donic has seemingly been sold with the idea of him in purple and gold, as he just signed a three-year extension worth 165 million with the team, which keeps him in LA for the foreseeable future, giving the franchise every chance to build a championship roster around him for at least the next 2 to 3 years. But in this video, let’s dive deeper into the situation and let’s take a look at the real winners and losers of the Luca Donuch extension. So, let’s get to it. Winner number one is obviously Luca Donuch. Well, there’s the obvious financial component of Luca Donuch securing himself a huge payday. And the structure of his contract itself was what made this a real win for Luca. By signing a contract with a guaranteed two years plus a one-year player option at the end, Donic has enabled himself to be once again an unrestricted free agent as early as 2028, which is when he will already have 10 years in the NBA, allowing him to be eligible to earn much more money. Well, under his new extension, as early as the summer of 2027, the Lakers will be able to restructure Luca’s contract and offer him a new 4-year max worth 323 million at that point. But on the other hand, if Luca plays out the two guaranteed seasons of his deal and he declines his player option for the 2029 season, by the 2028 off season, the Lakers could then sign him to a brand new 5-year Supermex extension worth a whopping 418 million, which potential deal makes Donic the first ever player in history to land an 80 million salary for a single season, which will see Luca earning almost 1 million per game in the regular season. But then aside from the money, there’s also the team component that comes with Luca’s current extension as this contract puts Donic in such a rare position. Basically, the Lakers franchise have always had an all-time great player leading the roster at any given point in NBA history. And the Lakers best players from Jerry West to Kareem to Magic to Kobe and Shaq until LeBron were always almost guaranteed to be the face of the league for a generation. And now depending on how good he’ll be with the Lakers, Luca also has the chance to solidify himself as an all-time legendary player as part of an all-time great franchise. But then loser number one of this extension is also Luca Donuch. Well, at least for the time being. Looking at it as a member of the Lakers, the longest extension Donic was eligible to sign was for 4 years to an amount that starts at 30% of the salary cap, which extension was projected to be worth around 229 million, which is definitely not bad, but it’s also not as high as what he was set to earn had he still been part of the Dallas Mavericks. Looking at it, the Super Max extension is available only to players who are in either the team that drafted them or a team who traded for them within the first four years of their NBA careers. Obviously, the Mavs drafted Luca, and by virtue of him making consecutive AllNBA selections in 2023 and 2024, he was eligible to sign a Super Max extension with Dallas this off season, which would have lasted 5 years to an amount starting at 35% of the salary cap, which is projected to be worth around 335.9 million, which is obviously way more than what he got from the Lakers. That is in addition to the fact that Luca also went from a state with no income taxes in Dallas to one with a very high income tax in California. Well, again, by signing a 2+1 extension, Donic has set himself up to become a free agent as early as 2028, which is when he can recoup his losses of a new contract. But Luca has to wait three more years before he can secure that new deal. And should he experience injury, that kind of contract also wouldn’t be guaranteed. Well, for sure Luca might even command a higher salary in three years time considering how he’s expected to just get better and better. And for sure, there are a ton of financial possibilities for Luca being the face of the Lakers in its huge market. But I think it’s safe to say that we’re still looking at a 9 figureure contract loss for Luca at the time being. Winner number two of the Luca Donich extension is Luca’s future co-star, who we don’t know yet. Well, first of all, the Lakers weren’t going to be able to start recruiting a future co-star for Luca if that player had any doubts about Luca staying in LA for the long haul. But being able to lock up Luca to an extension allows the Lakers to start the hunt for a co-star sooner than later. While initially there was likely some hope that a 2026 free agent might have been that second star for the Lakers. When the team traded for Mark Williams, part of the appeal of such a move would have been his low cap hold as a 2026 free agent. At the same time, Austin Reeves is a low cap hold as well, and the thought was that the Lakers could keep Donic, Reeves, Williams, and LeBron and still have enough cap space to land a big name by 2026. An obvious target was Jiren Jackson Jr., who would have been an ideal defensive front court compliment to Aluca and Austin Reeves backcourt, but Triple J obviously resigned with Memphis. And with the Aaron Fox also resigning with the Spurs, Trey Young is now the last remaining younger star from the free agent group of 2026. But Trey Young and Luca just don’t fit theoretically given their high onball usage. And there’s the fact that the Lakers are seemingly looking for a bigger player both in size and status. We’re probably talking about someone like Nicolola Joic or Giannis in the Takmpo who are both set to be free agents during the 2027 off season, but that could definitely change. Jokic was eligible to sign an extension with Denver this summer, but he declined to do so because obviously he can simply make more money by waiting a year. But should things go bad in Denver quickly, Joic will always have Luca possibly waiting for him in LA. On the other hand, Giannis is eligible to sign an extension with Milwaukee in 2026, but the Bucks are aware of Giannis’ sentiments, and they would almost have to trade Giannis rather than risk him walking into another team for nothing. Again, we don’t know who Luca’s co-star will be during the post LeBron era, but Lakers championship teams always came with star tandemss. And if the success of those star tandemss are any indication, Luca’s future co-star would be competing for a ton of championships with him in LA for the foreseeable future. Loser number two of the Luca Donuch extension is LeBron James. Well, if it was a younger LeBron who was in Luca’s current situation, I think there’s a good chance LeBron would have declined signing an extension with LA. Because when LeBron was unhappy of a team’s direction, he would simply leave. Well, the Lakers just lost in the first round. And if LeBron was as young as Luca, he would have most likely refused to sign an extension in an effort to force the Lakers to trade future draft capital or hand out long-term extensions for win now players. But obviously, Luca is not LeBron. And currently, Luca’s giving the Lakers trust because he has a longer runway in terms of competing for championships. While LeBron obviously doesn’t have that, LeBron wants to win now, which is why he’s frustrated that the Lakers are lacking that sense of urgency in building a win now team. Well, to be honest, Luca could have easily asked the front office to start trading draft picks for another star this off season, and the Lakers might have actually done that to secure Luca’s long-term commitment. Doing so might have given the Lakers a higher championship ceiling over the next 2 to 3 years, but that also meant significantly limiting the team’s flexibility in the future. That flexibility doesn’t mean anything to LeBron, but it does mean something to Luca. So basically, Luca signing an extension took away any hope that LeBron had in terms of using Luca to exert leverage over the Lakers in terms of roster building. Winner number three of the Luca Donic extension are the Los Angeles Lakers. While obviously Luca didn’t want to be there at first and he could have simply informed the team that he wanted out as early as next summer, but Luca chose to remain in LA by signing a standard Max contract, which is the most the team can offer him. On the other hand, had Donuch chosen not to extend with the team, that would have meant a miserable season of star hunting for the franchise. Also, in that case, Luca might have requested for an immediate trade. And while LA will get more for Luca than what they’ve given Dallas, losing such a bright young talent so early after acquiring him would still have been a disaster for this Lakers team that badly needed an identity, especially as they approached the post LeBron era. The Lakers had an aging roster and while it likely would have taken a couple more years, it looks like the team was headed for a rebuild. But now the franchise is a superstar that they can build around for the next several years. And as the Lakers have learned over the past decades, getting their first star is the hard part, but getting the second star will just come naturally. Plus, with the cap space they will have next off season, together with the team having Luca Donuch as the ultimate leverage, sooner or later, stars will continue to want to play in LA to increase their chances of winning a championship. And lastly, loser number three of the Luca Donuch extension are the rest of the teams with cap space in the 2026 offseason. While had Luca opted to become a free agent next year, and had he literally expressed his desire to join any other team, you could basically expect that certain team to prepare everything necessary to acquire Donic. Well, take the San Antonio Spurs for example. The Spurs are a Texas team, a state Luke is familiar with. The Spurs just signed the Aaron Fox to an extension which took away a significant part of their cap space. But the Spurs are definitely happy to have him as Victor Wmanyama’s co-star. But had Luca expressed interest in playing for the Spurse, you better believe San Antonio’s front office would still trade the Aaron Fox to create the needed cap space to acquire Luca without any hesitation to form a Luca and WBY tandem, which would be the deadliest twoman combination in all of basketball. You could also say the same about a number of other highlevel teams, but obviously two star markets with the ability to create significant cap space next offseason are the LA Clippers and the Miami Heat. Those teams have been able to attract MVP caliber free agents in the past and both teams have prioritized the flexibility to do so again next year. But with Luca choosing to stay in LA, both teams would now have to wait a little bit longer to try and land their next big star. Luca is now off the market, but so are other supposed to be 2026 free agent candidates such as Jiren Jackson Jr. and the Aaron Fox, which now leaves LeBron James and Trey Young as the biggest names to be available in the free agent market next off season. But the biggest question is, can Luca Donic actually lead the Lakers to a championship? Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comment section below. And again, if you’re new to the channel, please consider subscribing as well. Again, this has been Rio Balls and I’ll see you on the next one. Peace. [Music]

#NBA #LukaDoncic #Lakers #NBAhighlights #basketball

Skinny Luka Doncic is the talk of the NBA and the superstar just signed a long-term extension with the Los Angeles Lakers. The LeBron James era is headed to a close in LA but the Lakers have found their next face. Luka was part of the most stunning trade in NBA history after the Dallas Mavericks sent him to the Lakers, but since then, Doncic has been looking like a different kind of player who is ready to win a championship. The Lakers have also been saving up for cap space with the possibility of landing superstars such as Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo over the next few offseasons, to give Luka Doncic a co-star. This could mean a brand new Lakers star tandem in the likes of Kareem and Magic, Kobe and Shaq as well as LeBron and Anthony Davis.

Now, Luka will be playing for Slovenia in Eurobasket 2025 and he is about to show the world how different he is as the new face of the Lakers and possibly of the NBA. With the OKC Thunder just winning the title, and with the Houston Rockets trading for Kevin Durant and with the Nuggets still having Nikola Jokic in addition to the Spurs building the Victor Wembanyama and DeAaron Fox duo, can the Lakers actually climb back up to the top of the Western Conference with the Luka Doncic and LeBron James duo, especially with the acquisitions of DeAndre Ayton and Marcus Smart? Can the Lakers actually bring another superstar to play with Luka and LeBron?

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