Lakers retrofit offseason plan around Luka Doncic will be a lot different than last years
The Lakers have several priorities entering another pivotal offseason. But Rob Pelinka, the franchise’s president of basketball operations and general manager, made it clear what the top priority is: Building a roster that best fits and complements superstar guard Luka Doncic.Doncic reestablished himself as one of the league’s best players in 2025-26, which ended with the Lakers getting swept in the second round by the Thunder.For Doncic, his season concluded with a left hamstring strain that he suffered on April 2 — and forced him to the miss the entire postseason.
Doncic is coming off winning the league’s scoring title for the second time in three seasons and finishing fourth in the voting for league MVP, which Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won for the second consecutive season. He signed a three-year, $160.4 million contract extension last August (which kicks in next season with a $49.5 million salary for 2026-27, $53.5 million for 2027-28 with a $57.4 million player option for 2028-29), which cemented Doncic as the face and centerpiece of the franchise. And with Doncic being the focal point of the Lakers’ present and future, there will be an “ongoing collaborative process” when it comes to building out the roster ahead of next season, according to Pelinka. “The archetype of the roster that we want is going to be retrofitted around Luka and the things he needs,” Pelinka said.“Clearly he’s that leader and that player for the future that we want to build the right way around.”If that sounds familiar…well, that’s because it should. Pelinka made very similar comments after the 2024-25 season ended, just a couple of months after the Lakers shockingly traded for Doncic. “When you make a seismic trade at the deadline, your roster and the building around it, it’s kind of like trying to build an airplane in the sky – now we get a chance to land that plane, put it in the hangar, and really figure out the parts of it that ...