Report: Lakers’ Luka Doncic ‘In This Mindset Of Changing A lot About Himself’

The Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers because Nico Harrison wasn’t pleased with Doncic’s work ethic, conditioning and effort on defense. 

Doncic is one of the top offensive players in the NBA. However, you can make a case that he’s one of the worst defenders in the league. 

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year’s playoffs in five games despite having Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. The Timberwolves targeted Doncic on defense all series long and usually easily scored against the five-time All-Star. 

Los Angeles can sign Doncic to a four-year, $229 million contract in August. Doncic will make $46 million next season. He has a player option worth $48.9 million for the 2026-27 season and it appears he’s taking his body seriously this summer. 

On a recent appearance on “The Dumb Zone,” Jason Gallagher, who is the producer of “Mind the Game” with James and Steve Nash, said that Doncic is “in this mindset of changing a lot about himself.”

“I’ve heard from folks that are pretty honest about the conditioning stuff or whatever that Luka has already like begun to clean slate, like starting anew,” Gallagher said. “He’s already like in this mindset of changing a lot about himself. Now, I’ve heard it before, but not from specific people that have been critical of him.”

Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists with the Lakers in the regular season after the Mavericks traded him in February. The future Hall of Famer then put up 30.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game in the Timberwolves series.

All signs point toward Doncic signing an extension with the Lakers this offseason. Rob Pelinka told local reporters during his exit interview that he’s looking forward to building around Doncic for the foreseeable future. 

“It’s incredibly exciting to have the promise of him in our next decade of Laker basketball with being able to build a team around him and him being at the center of our franchise,” Pelinka said. “Our partnership with him has been incredible. We’re appreciative and grateful and can’t wait to get to the work, really starting today, of getting ready for next year.”