Luka Doncic Reportedly Can Get $400M+ with No-Trade Clause in Next Lakers Contract

Luka Dončić signed a three-year, $165 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday that includes a player option in the final year of the pact.

Dončić could have signed up to a four-year, $229 million deal, but there was a very good reason for taking a shorter-term deal.

As NBA reporter Marc Stein noted, the "player option for 2028-29 enables him to become a free agent in the summer of 2028 and then sign a five-year deal worth in excess of $400 million. That second Lakers deal would more than offset the five-year supermax in the $340 million range that he was initially expected to sign with the Mavericks this summer."

He also would be "eligible to have a full no-trade clause added to his next deal as long as he goes to unrestricted free agency and signs an all-new contract."

On Saturday, ESPN's Dave McMenamin projected that the five-year extension Dončić could sign if he declined his 2028-29 player option would be worth approximately $418 million.

As he noted, "That potential deal could make him the first player in league history to land an $80 million season salary, taking home nearly $1 million per game: A staggering figure. The last year of the deal would be approaching nine figures at $95 million—a premium price as the face of a $10 billion franchise."

As for the no-trade clause, Stein noted that players are only eligible to have one written into their contract with eight years of service time and four seasons playing for the same team.

While Dončić would be closer to 3.5 seasons with the Lakers at the time of signing this theoretical five-year, $418 million deal, Stein reported that league sources said he'll "indeed be deemed a four-year Laker at that point because he will have finished four consecutive seasons in purple and gold at that stage."

Now, a lot can change in the next three years. Dončić's time in Los Angeles could be a disappointment, or injuries might severely impact his career. But assuming he remains on the same career arc and remains relatively healthy, the Lakers won't want him to go anywhere. The best way to ensure that would be paying him a very lucrative contract, potentially with that no-trade clause attached.

Those clauses can age pretty poorly, of course. Just ask the Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns about how it worked out with Bradley Beal. But the Lakers were basically handed Dončić on a silver platter and have quickly pivoted to him being the face of the franchise, not LeBron James. Keeping him happy is going to be priority No. 1 for probably the next decade.