The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Luka Dončić in a blockbuster deal with the Dallas Mavericks. Although the trade landed Nico Harrison and Patrick Dumont in a whole lot of trouble, it was a dream come true for Rob Pelinka and the Lakers. They were even happy to give up Anthony Davis and Max Christie, who were a key part of the team.
The Lakers always seemed to have a superstar on their roster, from Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant to LeBron James and now, Dončić. It was frustrating for rival fans to witness that the 17-time NBA champs never failed to acquire the most prominent players during every generation.
Although the Lakers have done well in putting together a decent team, they are far from taking a comfortable shot at the title. This is the case even after the signing of Deandre Ayton, who certainly fills a glaring need at center.
They still need defensively sound players and significant roster depth, which has been an issue recently. They must also lock down their important players like Dončić for the coming years. However, an NBA analyst thinks Pelinka may face a huge issue re-signing the Slovenian star.
Nick Wright Claims Luka Dončić May Not Re-Sign With Lakers After Internal Struggles
NBA analyst Nick Wright claims that the point guard may not re-sign with the Lakers after what happened with Dorian Finney-Smith and James’ current situation with the team.
“Is Luka going to sign this extension? And my answer to that question three weeks ago would have been the Lakers obviously have built-in inherent advantages, one of the richest ownership groups in the league… I would have said the odds of him signing in the summer were like 95%,” he says.
“I would have said it’s 95% that Luka will resign this summer… I now will say it’s 75%”@getnickwright still thinks Luka Doncic will be a Laker long term, but it’s not the lock he thought it was pic.twitter.com/qxbaaKpMxf
— What’s Wright? with Nick Wright (@WhatsWrightShow) July 16, 2025
As Wright claims, Dončić has shown his support for Mark Walter, the new Lakers owner, after a record-breaking $10 billion purchase. Having a new owner who isn’t afraid to break the bank to keep a player could also naturally play an integral role in keeping Dončić in L.A.
He also adds that the way Lakers let go of Finney-Smith can be something that bothers No. 77. “I think the way the Lakers screwed up the Dorian Finney-Smith thing is potentially troubling. And I think the way the Lakers are not so subtly dissing LeBron James about how excited they are to be done with LeBron, I can’t imagine Luka’s happy about that,” he claims.
Although this may be the fan’s opinion and not a report, there is a strong possibility that what is happening in L.A. is causing some unrest. For some context, Finney-Smith declined a $15.4 million player option before agreeing to a $53 million deal with the Houston Rockets.
Dan Woike of The Athletic claimed that the Lakers only offered a two-year deal since they aimed to maintain their flexibility to sign a superstar next to Dončić in the future. As for James, the Lakers still have not offered him a new contract, and the four-time NBA champion has also picked up his $52.6 million player option to play in L.A. for the 2025-26 season.
Wright believes the fact the Lakers have multiple players with complicated contract situations may put off Dončić, who can sign a four-year, $228 million extension after Aug. 2.
It will be interesting to see how things turn out for Dončić and the Lakers, considering they have subtly hinted that they intend to move on to the Slovenian from James as the franchise’s new face.
