Clippers Primed To Lock Horns With Lakers Over Luka Doncic If They Don't Agree On Contract Extension

The Los Angeles Lakers' offseason plans have been driven by the intent of forming a competitive roster around Luka Doncic. While their plans for the superstar involve him becoming the franchise cornerstone for the foreseeable future, the Los Angeles Clippers could challenge these ambitions.

The Clippers have been one of the most active teams in the offseason. After successfully re-signing James Harden to a two-year, $81.5 million deal, the franchise continued to build its roster depth by adding key role players.

Among the biggest free agency moves, the Clippers acquired veteran big man Brook Lopez, a center who had been viewed as a top target for the Purple and Gold. In addition to Lopez, LA also successfully re-signed their forward Nicolas Batum.

With the current roster, the Clippers are likely to remain a competitive side in the West. The pairing of Kawhi Leonard and James Harden has also shown a lot of upside, having secured the team's place as the fifth seed in the conference last season.

With both players locked in for the next two seasons, LA has its star-studded core intact. But this could also be a set up for a bigger splash in the summer of 2027.

As things stand, the Clippers are expected to have several major contracts come off the books after the 2026-27 season. The likes of Leonard, Harden, Lopez, Batum, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kris Dunn, and Derrick Jones Jr. will all enter the free agency market.

With a significant chunk of the cap space cleared up, the Clippers would have a lot of freedom to pursue free agents to rebuild their roster. A notable name in the 2027 free agency class at the moment is Luka Doncic.

Doncic and LeBron James are currently the Lakers' most valuable assets. But with the increasing likelihood of James' departure from Los Angeles, the Purple and Gold will shift most of their efforts towards getting the Slovenian to stay with the team.

While there is enough confidence that the guard will remain with the Lakers, nothing is guaranteed until Doncic signs his contract extension with the team. The current expectation is that the superstar will sign a three-year, $165 million deal, especially in light of James opting in to the final year of his contract. 

This is largely unfavorable to Doncic, who was expecting to see a five-year deal from the Dallas Mavericks before being traded. Regardless, the initiative currently lies with the guard, who is ramping up his offseason conditioning in preparation for the new season.