Everyone knows how shocking the Luka Doncic trade was. Apparently, according to an NBA insider, the effects of being traded "took some time" to get over. But he's ready to go.
Luka Doncic just signed his new three-year contract worth $165 million with the Los Angeles Lakers. That contract gives him the flexibility to opt out after the second year to negotiate a five-year, $418 million contract, able to recoup a lot of the money he missed from the trade.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic
Aug 2, 2025; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) following a press conference announcing the signing of a 3-year, $165 million contract extension at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The trade still has a lot of Dallas Mavericks fans stunned, but no one was more stunned than Doncic himself. It's been well-documented how much Doncic wanted to be in Dallas long-term, having just bought a new house at the time he was traded. ESPN's Dave McMenamin described Doncic's feelings on the trade in an article after the contract was signed.
"Processing the trade from Dallas took Doncic some time," McMenamin reported. "Based on the way the franchise and fanbase treated him in his early days in the league, he figured he would retire a Maverick after spending his whole career in Dallas, the same way franchise icon Dirk Nowitzki did.
"And after starting his professional career with Real Madrid as a teenager, he never even considered being traded as a possibility, a source close to Doncic told ESPN. Deals like that rarely, if ever, happen in the Liga ACB."
Everyone assumed Doncic would have a statue next to Dirk Nowitzki's one day. It was the perfect passing of the torch; Doncic's first season was Nowitzki's last, and Nowitzki loves Doncic. Betraying the fanbase's and the superstar's trust in this manner takes time to get over. Mavericks fans may never be over it.
I just signed my extension with the Lakers. Excited to keep working to bring championships to LA and make Laker Nation proud. Grateful to the Lakers, my teammates and all the fans who’ve shown so much love since day one. This is just the beginning. 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/PrTfTxxlpU
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) August 2, 2025
Once the feelings of the trade went away, McMenamin said, Doncic only had one goal: "win now." Whether or not the Lakers have done enough for that is up for debate, as they let Dorian Finney-Smith walk in free agency while bringing in Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton, and Jake LaRavia.
Doncic is doing what he can to be the best version of himself, though. He was on the cover of Men's Health magazine and seems to be in tremendous shape, arguably the best shape of his career. We'll see at the Eurobasket Tournament at the end of the month if that holds and can carry teams to wins, but that shouldn't be an issue.
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