Last year, just before the NBA trade deadline passed, the Los Angeles Lakers shocked the world by pulling off one of the biggest blockbuster trades of the decade by landing Luka Doncic. He and LeBron James helped the Lakers return to the postseason for the third year in a row, but getting bounced out of the first round wasn’t what they had in mind.
While the Lakers can still move forward with Doncic, who’s undoubtedly one of the top five players in the NBA today, their future together is still a bit uncertain. After all, Doncic is only under contract through this season for another $45.9 million.
Doncic does have a $48.9 million player option for the 2026-27 season, but the Lakers would undoubtedly prefer to get an extension done first.
However, according to [ESPN’s NBA expert Brian Windhorst](https://x.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/1945210466990498253), the Lakers are “a little bit stressed out” about Doncic’s upcoming contract extension.
> “This happens when it’s a player’s second max contract. This is when players sometimes leave or are not really worth it. This is a stress max right now for Luka. The Lakers are a little bit stressed out about it… If he signs it, relief for the Lakers… If he does not sign it, you will see teams begin to open up maneuvers to try to chase Luka.”
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> Brian Windhorst on Luka Doncic
Doncic will officially become eligible to sign his max-level four-year, $229 million contract extension on August 2. Whether he actually signs or not will continue to be a big storyline, not just in Los Angeles, but also leaguewide.
**Related: [NBA Expert Reveals 4 teams with LeBron James Trade Interest](https://sportsnaut.com/nba/nba-expert-reveals-4-teams-with-lebron-james-trade-interest/)**