The trade taking Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers has energized the NBA, at a moment when deals appeared tougher than ever to execute.
Rob Pelinka and Nico Harrison worked in secrecy for around three weeks to execute the trade, as the pair have separately revealed in their press conferences.
Luka Doncic had looked like being on the Dallas Mavericks for life, before being traded away at just 25-years-old, in a move that challenges the Slovenian to now prove his former team wrong.
Negotiations went in the Lakers favor, but there was one query the team had, a worry about whether Doncic will eventually recommit to the team in 2026.
It’s up to the Lakers to build around Doncic and make the team feel at home, but for now, this is a moment of optimism for the team, and no real reason to worry about him not sticking around.
The Luka Doncic contract doubt will nag at the Lakers. He is not eligible for a supermax extension due to the trade, meaning that financially, all teams have an equal shot at him if he hits free agency in 2026.
Could that, then mean Luka Doncic could team up with fellow European superstar Nikola Jokic on the Denver Nuggets?
The duo have transformed the NBA over the past few years, and just last week Patrick Beverley was on record expressing excitement they may one day get to play together.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn responded to the Doncic and Jokic question regarding the Nuggets, and flipped it the other way – suggesting the big Serbian center could join the LA Lakers in 2027.
Quinn explained: “I know people don’t want to hear this… But Jokic only becomes eligible for free agency one year later than Luka does.
“The Lakers have much cleaner books than the Nuggets. LA tends to be more desirable than Denver.
“If they were to partner up, it would probably be as Lakers.”
Whether the NBA ever gets to see Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic together is unclear. But who would have thought we would see Doncic and LeBron James play together?
It’s certainly with Doncic’s grasp to make it happen with Jokic in Denver if he really wanted to, and if there was salary feasibility to do so.
But if he is just a little more patient, Nikola Jokic could head to LA. What better piece to add around Doncic than the best player in the NBA, perhaps coinciding at a time when LeBron James has finally retired?
It seems unthinkable, and Denver would fight tooth and nail to stop the four-times MVP hitting free agency at all.
But who knows? The past week has taught us once again, to think big.
