NBA Rumors: Luka Doncic Understood Lakers May Have to Wait to Upgrade Roster

The Los Angeles Lakers had appeared to grant Luka Dončić his wish for a rim-running center by trading for Mark Williams ahead of the NBA trade deadline, only to rescind that deal due to a failed physical.

But Dončić plans to be patient with the Lakers as they look to build the team around him moving forward.

NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote Monday that there has been "no tangible dismay from the Dončić camp about his new team walking away from the Williams deal. Sources told The Stein Line that Dončić, in his first discussion about roster construction with Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, told Pelinka that he understood it might take until the summer to make that addition... and came away impressed by how swiftly the Lakers initially moved to try to address that void."

Dončić has played just two games with the Lakers since his shocking trade from the Dallas Mavericks, with the Lakers splitting back-to-back games against the Utah Jazz. The superstar guard, still on a minutes restriction after returning from a calf strain, averaged just 15 points in the two games, albeit in 23.5 minutes per contest.

It remains to be seen how Dončić and LeBron James will pair together, given both like to facilitate a team's offense. That's a concern for the short term, but given James' age (40), it's clear the Lakers are going to construct the roster around Dončić moving forward.

Keeping him happy makes sense for the Lakers—the 25-year-old could hit free agency following the 2025-26 season (he has a $48.9 million player option in 2026-27 but he'll likely decline it). The goal for the Lakers is to sign Dončić to a long-term extension, even if the $345 million supermax he could've signed this summer had he remained in Dallas is now off the table.

More likely is Dončić signing a shorter extension and clearing the way for a supermax down the line:

Either way, Dončić still has a lot of leverage when it comes to requesting certain archetypes of players to join him, as the Lakers don't want to risk losing him for nothing, especially with James likely to retire at some point in the next few years. The Lakers didn't trade for Dončić to be a rental—he's the long-term future of the organization.

As such, the effort to build around him began the moment he was acquired. Dončić, however, appears to understand that it may take some time to reshape the roster in a way that best complements his skill set.