The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the postseason long before any of the pundits expected after making a blockbuster trade at the deadline to acquire Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a package built around Anthony Davis.
Now, their focus shifts to the offseason and how to best position themselves to make a deeper run at a championship next year, which is where Luka Doncic's plans for the summer months come into play.
Those plans, at least for now, involve Doncic returning to Europe in order to represent Slovenia at this summer's EuroBasket Tournament taking place from Aug. 27 to Sept.14, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Doncic and Slovenia will be part of Group D and will play their opening round games in Poland.
"After the early exit, Doncic will finally get to exhale. One source close to him says this season was "the most unexpected year of Luka's life. He will spend the summer playing for the Slovenian men's national basketball team at EuroBasket, sources said. He'll be accompanied by members of his "body team" -- Slovenian national team strength coach Anže Maček and physiotherapist Javier Barrio Calvo -- throughout the offseason."Dave McMenamin
The Lakers will surely be keeping tabs on Doncic while he represents his country in the EuroBasket Tournament, it wouldn't be surprising to see a member of the staff and or medical team make the trip as well. It seems safe to say, however, that Rob Pelinka and the rest of the front office would prefer to see Doncic in a more controlled environment in his preparations for the 2025-26 campaign.
While he didn't flat out say it, Lakers head coach JJ Redick may have sent a message to Doncic as he made it clear that the Purple and Gold need to be in "championship shape" in order to reach the goals they have for next season.
At the end of the day, Los Angeles has no say over whether Doncic suits off for his home country this offseason, as the Lakers have no legal grounds to prevent the All-NBA guard from competing. Given the fact that Doncic is the one with all of the leverage in the current contract negotiations that are set to open this summer, Los Angeles is allowed to offer Luka a four-year, $229 million extension on Aug. 2, it would not be the best look for the franchise to meddle in Luka's plans even if Pelinka and the Lakers could prevent him from playing for Slovenia this summer.
Keeping Doncic happy while helping preserve his long-term health is the fine line the Purple and Gold have to walk right now. Fortunately, this organization knows how to handle relationships with superstar players, so in terms of the things they can control, Los Angeles has to feel good about the place it is in and Doncic's desire to remain with the franchise long-term.