Although Luka Doncic is spending the summer in Slovenia, he remains in “constant communication” with Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
According to McMenamin, while Doncic has also been in contact with LeBron James and Austin Reaves since the season ended, he isn’t actively pitching either player on re-signing with Los Angeles and isn’t heavily involved in the team’s offseason preparations. However, the All-NBA guard has conveyed at least one roster preference to Pelinka and Redick, per McMenamin.
“Luka’s first and foremost desire is an A-list center,” a source told ESPN.
It remains to be seen whether the Lakers will be able to land that type of player this summer, but they have done due diligence on restricted free agents like Jalen Duren of the Pistons and Walker Kessler of the Jazz, according to McMenamin, as well as non-center RFAs like Peyton Watson of the Nuggets and Tari Eason of the Rockets.
While the Lakers could have the cap room necessary to make an aggressive play for one of those restricted free agents, an offer sheet would tie up their cap room at the start of the 2026/27 league year, and clearing enough space for that sort of offer would likely require renouncing their rights to some key free agents. So if the team pursues an RFA, a sign-and-trade deal may be its preferred route.
In addition to hoping to bring back James and Reaves, Los Angeles would also like to re-sign Luke Kennard, who will be an unrestricted free agent, and Marcus Smart, who is considered likely to decline his $5.4MM player option to negotiate a raise. Both players reciprocate the Lakers’ interest, according to McMenamin.
A number of league sources told ESPN that forward Rui Hachimura could end up being the odd man out among the Lakers’ free agents, but if the club operates over the cap, it would be in position to retain all of its own free agents and use the mid-level exception on an outside target, McMenamin notes.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- James has been on vacation overseas with his family and is also reuniting with several members of the Cavaliers’ 2016 championship team to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their title, according to McMenamin, who says LeBron isn’t expected to get serious about deciding his future until after he returns from that trip. But the “prevailing sentiment” is that he’s likely to remain with the Lakers and that he isn’t bothered by the fact that he has become a secondary option in L.A.’s offense. “LeBron rocks with Luka,” a source told ESPN.
- Appearing on NBA Today (Twitter video link) on Wednesday, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears said he’s also hearing a return to the Lakers is the likeliest outcome for James. Spears added that LeBron’s good friend and former teammate Kevin Love is a candidate to sign with the team this offseason.
- Doncic, who missed the playoffs due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain, was cleared for basketball activities on May 28 and is in “full go mode” this summer, a source told McMenamin.
- Doncic is hoping – and expecting – that the Lakers will be able to use their flexibility this summer to build a championship-caliber roster, McMenamin notes. “Luka wants to be a championship team yesterday,” a source close to the star guard told ESPN. “Ever since the trade, they’ve always told us: ‘summer of ’26. We’ll show you in the summer of ’26.’ So, we are so excited that the summer of ’26 is here.”
