Luka Doncic is not quite getting antsy in Tinseltown just yet.
The Los Angeles Lakers star Doncic supported the team’s quiet trade deadline with a focus instead on “the long-term picture,” Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported on Tuesday. McMenamin also noted that Doncic has not pushed for the Lakers to acquire a superstar-level co-star for when LeBron James is no longer on the roster.
Ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, the Lakers did little other than flipping Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Luke Kennard (who has averaged a modest 10.0 points per game for the team thus far). The Lakers have been quiet on the buyout market as well, watching as the likes of Cam Thomas, Jeremy Sochan, and Mike Conley Jr. have signed elsewhere instead.
Doncic, 26, is in his first full season with the Lakers after he was shockingly traded by the Dallas Mavericks a little over one year ago. He is already the new franchise centerpiece in Los Angeles, and that will only increase with James widely expected to leave the Lakers as a free agent this summer.
Last summer, the Lakers signed Doncic to a monster $165 million max contract extension. Doncic’s extension is set to keep him in Los Angeles through at least 2028 (he holds a $57.8 million player option for 2028-29 too).
The Lakers would have had at least some reason to go for it this season in what could be their final year with James on the roster (not to mention that Austin Reaves is also set to become a free agent this summer). But it appears that the former NBA scoring champion Doncic is on board with the Lakers’ apparent plan to wait out for now and then possibly take some major swings in the offseason.
