Luka Dončić contract extension options: Lakers star expected to sign, but for how much and for how long?

Dončić is no longer eligible for a supermax deal

Luka Dončić may have only spent a few months with the Los Angeles Lakers, but by all accounts, he is ready to make a longer-term commitment. On Aug. 2, the extend-and-trade restrictions limiting what Dončić can earn in a deal with the Lakers expire. At that point, he is expected to sign a contract extension to remain in Los Angeles. At present, he is committed to the Lakers only through the end of the 2025-26 season thanks to a player option he holds after this year. His new deal will lock him up longer. 2025-26 (existing contract) $45,999,660 2026-27 (new contract begins) $49,641,687 2027-28 (player option) $53,613,021 Total $149,254,368 2025-26 (existing contract) $45,999,660 2026-27 (new contract begins) $49,641,687 2027-28 $53,613,021 2028-29 (player option) $57,584,355 Total $206,838,723 2025-26 (existing contract $45,999,660 2026-27 (new contract begins) $49,641,687 2027-28 $53,613,021 2028-29 $57,584,355 2029-30 (player option) $61,555,689 Total $268,394,4132

The question here is how much longer? When Dončić played for the Dallas Mavericks, he was expected to re-sign on a supermax deal that would have added five years to his existing contract. He is no longer eligible for the supermax, though, because the Lakers neither drafted him nor acquired him during the first four years of his career. That limits his potential earnings on a new deal to 30% of the cap in the first year of the deal rather than the 35% he would have gotten in Dallas. It also chops at least one year off the end of the deal. Dončić is only eligible to add four years to his existing contract.