Lakers take notable step to help Luka Doncic

The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be keeping a watchful eye on Luka Doncic during his first offseason with the team. That will involve keeping tabs on him during EuroBasket 2025 as well.

Matej Erjavec, president of the Slovenian basketball federation, said in a recent interview that the Lakers plan to send a coach to EuroBasket with Doncic. That is part of the agreement with the Lakers to allow Doncic to participate in the tournament.

“Within two minutes in a meeting with Rob Pelinka, he stressed, ‘Well, you will get Luka and one coach, and that’s it.’ And with that, we were done,” Erjavec said, via Eurohoops.net. “There was no debate at all.”

The two sides have yet to decide which coach will accompany Doncic and the Slovenian team. The Dallas Mavericks had previously had a similar agreement, and Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney accompanied Doncic on international duty in the past.

It may not be the primary reason for the move, but the Lakers will presumably want to keep one eye on Doncic’s fitness. The early returns on that front appear to be very promising, especially after the Lakers seemingly made that a point of emphasis heading into the offseason.

There are some other reasons to believe Doncic is on track to be healthier next season. That would be great news for the Lakers if it is the case.