Could the Lakers end up trading Luka Doncic?

USA Today

03-06-2025

Could the Lakers end up trading Luka Doncic?
The Los Angeles Lakers and their fans seemingly gained a new lease on life, especially when it came to contending for the NBA championship, when the organization landed generational superstar Luka Doncic in that stunning trade four months ago. While it hasn't paid dividends just yet, that trade was presumably made for the immediate future beginning next season rather than the 2024-25 campaign.
But is it possible the Lakers will get buyer's remorse at some point? While Doncic has the potential to become one of the five to 10 greatest basketball players of all time, he hasn't exactly been in great shape, and many have criticized him for allegedly not taking good care of his body.
Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report listed Doncic as the team's most untouchable player in terms of trade talks in a recent article. But he did imply that there is a scenario in which L.A. may end up wanting to move on from the Slovenian wonder.
Via Bleacher Report:
"In Dončić, the Los Angeles Lakers have a bridge to their post-LeBron James era," Hughes wrote. "He'll be the superstar cornerstone upon which the franchise's next decade is built.
"The only way that'll change is if [Nico] Harrison's justification for moving Dončić this past February—poor conditioning and shoddy defense—reaches a point where Los Angeles winds up with the same concerns.
"Of course, if you view the trade from Dallas to L.A. as a wake-up call for Dončić, it's pretty hard to imagine his bad habits continuing."
So far this offseason, it looks as if Doncic is already changing those bad habits. He looked noticeably slimmer at a recent Real Madrid game, and at least one report has indicated that he has at least changed his mindset as far as his fitness and conditioning.
He has a player option for the 2026-27 season that he can decline in order to become a free agent next summer. But he did indicate in a recent interview that he would like to remain with the Purple and Gold long term.