Report: Luka Doncic ‘Ecstatic’ About Joining Lakers, Expected To Remain With Them Long-Term

According to NBA insiders Fred Katz, Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Luka Doncic is “ecstatic” about joining the Los Angeles Lakers

Doncic gets to play with LeBron James, his basketball idol.

“Now that the trade is official, answers are emerging,” Katz, Amick and Vardon wrote. “Dončić is ecstatic about joining the Lakers, and all early signs point to a long-term future with the team, a league source said.”

Doncic appeared in 422 games with the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists while shooting 47.0% from the field, 34.8% from beyond the arc and 74.8% from the free-throw line. 

A future Hall of Famer, Doncic made five All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams with Dallas. He also won the 2019 Rookie of the Year Award and the 2024 scoring title. 

“But in recent NBA history, this trade has no comparison point — a player as young and as good as Dončić, dealt to a conference rival without even asking to be traded,” Katz, Amick and Vardon wrote. “A league source close to Dončić said he wanted to be in Dallas his entire career, which Dončić himself essentially said in the goodbye note to the city he posted to social media on Sunday: ‘I thought I’d spend my career here and I wanted so badly to bring you a championship.'”

Doncic would have been eligible for a supermax extension this summer had the Mavericks held onto him. Dallas was worried about handing him that much money, per Katz, Amick and Vardon. 

The Lakers had to trade Anthony Davis and Max Christie to land Doncic, who is only 25. LeBron and Davis have the same agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group. 

Los Angeles won the 2020 title against the Miami Heat. The franchise also reached the 2023 Western Conference Finals behind LeBron and Davis. 

Doncic is currently out with a calf injury. It’s unknown when he will make his Lakers debut. 

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