Luka Doncic has signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers this week.
Doncic was traded to the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks in probably the most shocking trade in NBA history last season.
The Slovenian superstar’s first months in LA did not go exactly to plan as the Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.
Despite the team’s struggles, Doncic saw enough to convince him to commit his future to the organization.
General manager Rob Pelinka spoke about the Lakers’ biggest offseason move and described Doncic as “the best in the world” at one thing.
He also believes that the signing of former Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton will allow him to flourish even more.
“In conversations with Luka, it was really important for us to get a lob-catching center, and we feel like getting Deandre Ayton was huge,” Pelinka said.
“It’s going to unlock so much in Luka’s game. As you can tell, in the pick-and-roll reads, he’s the best in the world. I think Deandre is going to really help.”
The more important question for the Lakers is how much playing with Doncic will improve Ayton next season.
The big man has all the talent in the world, but he has not fulfilled his potential for one reason or another.
With LeBron James entering his 23rd season in October, Ayton will probably enjoy several games as the Lakers’ second or third scoring option.
Pelinka later explained the reasoning behind the moves for Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart, who both signed two-year deals with the team in free agency.
“Our thesis for our roster was to get younger and get some three-and-D players like Jake LaRavia, at his age, and a 42 percent shooter,” the GM added. “Having wings that can shoot and play on both sides of the ball is also really important.
“And then being able to add Marcus Smart, a Defensive Player of the Year a couple of years ago, with a chip on his shoulder to be back at that level and put the league on notice.
“Having players like that, who can defend multiple positions, surrounding both Luka and LeBron is really important, so we like the upgrades we were able to make to our roster.”
The Lakers have undoubtedly strengthened upon last season’s roster. The problem is that so have the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder were already great.
