The moment that Los Angeles Lakers fans have been waiting for has finally arrived. After months of tension and suspense, Los Angeles made it official: Luka Doncic is the new franchise player, and his contract will reflect that.
In the immediate aftermath of Doncic signing a contrat extension, there's only one thought to process: It's time to acquire a 3-and-D wing to make his job easier.
The Lakers acquired Doncic mere days ahead of the 2025 NBA trade deadline, but signing him to an extension was far from guaranteed. With a 2026 period of unrestricted free agency looming large, Los Angeles took action to ensure that the five-time All-NBA First Team honoree won't be departing any time soon.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Doncic and the Lakers agreed to a contract extension that comes out to $165 million across three seasons.
BREAKING: Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA star Luka Doncic has signed a three-year, $165 million maximum contract extension with the franchise, with a player option in 2028, agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/oRxAVIm2oD
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 2, 2025
In order to prove to Doncic that he made the right decision, Los Angeles must bring in a two-way wing who can guard opposing teams' best perimeter scorers and play a complementary style offensively.
Lakers must complement Luka Doncic with a true 3-and-D wing
Los Angeles has quality 3-and-D players on the roster, including Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, and Gabe Vincent. It also has a players who have shown flashes of elite defensive quality in the past in Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Unless steps are taken forward or clocks are turned back, however, the Lakers will enter the 2025-26 season without the elite 3-and-D wing they need.
Doncic has proven to thrive in an environment with such players, due in no small part to how demanding his role is offensively. He's historically been tasked with leading his teams in scoring and running the offense as both a playmaker and an initiator.
Perhaps LeBron James and Austin Reaves will alleviate some of that pressure from Doncic, but no matter what transpires, the Lakers need a top-tier wing defender.
It's admittedly easier said than done to acquire a player who can provide that level of quality. Dorian Finney-Smith showed in 2024-25, however, how profound of an impact a player with a reliable jump shot and top-tier defensive instincts and intensity can be.
The Lakers outscored opponents by a team-best 11.1 points per 100 possessions when Finney-Smith was on the court—and were outscored by 3.5 without him.
There's some level of hope that LaRavia, Smart, and a healthy Vanderbilt can combine to offset the loss of Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets. By-commitee rotations leave a void, however, if one individual can't step up to provide in the ballpark of 30 minutes of high-level postseason play.
With Doncic committing to a long-term future with the Lakers, the path forward is simple: Supplement his talent with the type of player his style of play demands.