The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t been shy in making it known that Luka Doncic is now the face of their franchise. It seems the Slovenian superstar isn’t waiting for LeBron James to fade into the sunset to take over those responsibilities, as he has already begun to recruit players to join the team. NBA insider Tim McMahon believes that marks major growth for Doncic and the Lakers.
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It hurts that the Lakers lost Dorian Finney-Smith, but they’ve made plenty of key additions to the team. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka began the offseason by bringing in Jake LaRavia. Shortly after, LA filled their center void by picking up Deandre Ayton off waivers.
Ayton wasn’t the only player the Lakers snagged from the buyout market. They also added former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to the roster. Smart already had an interest in joining the Lakers, but that accelerated when Doncic reached out. This is not the sort of action Doncic would’ve taken in the past.
“That is not Luka’s natural state,” McMahon said on The Hoop Collective. “The first several years of his career, he basically said, ‘Hey, I play. The front office puts the team together. I don’t want anything to do with it.'”
Doncic’s understanding of the NBA appears to have changed since his unexpected trade to Los Angeles. If the Lakers are going to give him some level of authority, he might as well make the most of it.
Luka slightly leaned into this power with the Dallas Mavericks when he urged the team to make roster improvements after losing Jalen Brunson. Subsequently, the team acquired Kyrie Irving. But Doncic’s stepping up his role in LA by landing Smart.
“This is taking it a step further than he has in the past, where he is being a pitchman for the organization. I think that’s actually the most significant part of all this. It does show that not only is he on the same page with the Lakers front office, but he is an active participant when his natural preference has been, ‘Hey, this is not my job,'” McMahon said.
For Lakers fans, this is a great sign. Of course, the team doesn’t want to put winning on the back burner, but they understand the future is where the value is. However, the future doesn’t matter if Doncic doesn’t agree to a contract extension. These recent moves, though, show that the five-time All-NBA First Team member is willing to integrate himself into the franchise.
“We can question how Deandre Ayton is going to do with the way he’s played the last couple of years. We can question how Marcus Smart is going to do the way he’s played the last couple of years. All of that is relevant. The most important things for the Lakers are Luka-related,” Brian Windhorst proclaimed.
The Lakers are looking to finalize a contract extension with Doncic as soon as possible. Though Luka’s camp hasn’t indicated any rush to finalize a deal, all parties will want make sure the five-time All-Star is satisfied.
