The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2025 offseason with two crucial goals in mind. The first was to improve the depth of the rotation after an uneventful 2024 period of free agency overburdened the starters and contributed heavily to a disappointing first-round exit.
The other was accomplished on Saturday, Aug. 2: Signing Luka Doncic to a contract extension that ensured he wouldn't enter free agency in 2026. With the deal done, one Laker should be grinning ear to ear.
When the Lakers acquired Doncic, few questioned whether or not he would become the front office's top priority from a team-building perspective. He's one of the most dominant forces of his era, and at 26 years of age, is operating along a timeline that provides Los Angeles with a rare ability to plan for more than just one season at a time.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Lakers have signed Doncic to a three-year, $165 million extension that will ensure that future includes the new franchise player.
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 turn, Deandre Ayton has been given a golden opportunity to find a consistent home and rewrite his career narrative as a borderline journeyman.
Deandre Ayton can finally find a consistent home alongside Luka Doncic
Ayton, 27, entered the Association facing generational expectations as the No. 1 pick in a stacked 2018 NBA Draft that included the likes of Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Trae Young. He's been more than solid, but inconsistency and the prolific nature of his class have defined his career narrative up to this point.
Viewed by many as a productive but unreliable player whose defensive consistency and offensive intensity have undermined his otherwise strong production.
In Los Angeles, however, Ayton has acquired the perfect circumstances for a breakout season as he enters his athletic prime. He'll be surrounded by a three-headed monster of high-level playmakers, including two generational talents in Doncic and LeBron James.
Considering Ayton helped the Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals while playing alongside Devin Booker and Chris Paul, there's ample reason for optimism in Los Angeles.
Ayton signed with the franchise on something of a prove-it deal at two years and just over $16.2 million. He has a player option for the 2026-27 season, which he could realistically decline in favor of a long-term deal if chemistry is developed in 2025-26.
With Doncic signing a three-year extension, Ayton now has every reason to not only put his best foot forward in his debut Lakers season and potentially re-sign on a long-term deal if the stars align.
There are concerns about how Ayton fits in Los Angeles, due in no small part to a relatively underwhelming tenure with the Portland Trail Blazers. He's a walking double-double with the physical tools to impose his will on both ends of the floor, however, and is in the perfect situaton to realize a new level of his potential.
Thankfully, with Doncic signed to an extension, the Lakers can now proceed with its roster-building efforts with a new level of appeal and a center who has all of the tools to define a brighter future.