LA Lakers GM Rob Pelinka says what he truly thinks of Luka Doncic playing for Slovenia

Rob Pelinka says the LA Lakers have ‘zero problems’ with Luka Doncic playing for Slovenia

Ahead of the EuroBasket 2025 opener, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, alongside owner Jeanie Buss, made a trip to Poland to show support for Doncic.

During the trip, Pelinka was asked about his honest thoughts on letting Doncic stay away from the Lakers for the summer.

“Zero problems. It’s just something that we believe in, for the Lakers organization and their leadership, their executives, have been great,” Pelinka told BasketNews.

He added: “It’s been a collaborative partnership with them. We have one of our Los Angeles Lakers coaches, Greg St. Jean, added to the staff, just for support.

“So, we’ll continue to support Luka throughout his career, so he can do great things for the Lakers and for the Slovenian national team.”

It’s great to see executives showing support for their star players. Denver Nuggets executives did the same for Nikola Jokic ahead of the EuroBasket 2025 opener.

2025-26 season will be key for Luka Doncic

Right now, Doncic is focused on playing for Slovenia. However, NBA insider Brian Windhorst doesn’t see Doncic and Slovenia getting past the group stage.

If Windhorst’s prediction proves to be correct, the next step for Luka will be to focus on the 2025-26 NBA season with the Lakers.

Even coach Greg St. Jean believes Doncic’s work isn’t done yet. Sure, he has gone through a transformation, but he still needs to maintain this physique.

If he can do that, Doncic will finally be able to silence his critics once and for all.