Luka Doncic putting pressure on Rob Pelinka, Lakers ahead of franchise-altering offseason

The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off one of the most stunning trades in NBA history at the 2025 trade deadline by acquiring All-NBA guard Luka Doncic.

Despite missing the Lakers' playoff run this past season due to a hamstring injury, Doncic's first full season in Los Angeles produced fireworks. The 27-year-old led the league in points per game (33.5), while also averaging nearly eight rebounds and eight assists.

Doncic is one of the best players in basketball and figures to be the next Laker great. However, the six-time All-Star is putting some pressure on the franchise to deliver this offseason.

Doncic could have a "wandering eye" if Lakers don't deliver on their plans

In a recent mailbag article, The Athletic's Dan Woike was asked about Doncic's long-term future with the Lakers, and he didn't shut down the possibility of Doncic at least thinking about looking elsewhere if Los Angeles can't bolster the core around him in a significant way this offseason.

"That’s a lot of money to walk away from, but I think there’s an actual threat that he [Doncic] could have a wandering eye if the Lakers can’t deliver on the plans they presented last summer," Woike wrote. "How the Lakers handle this summer, how their decisions play out, how they’re reacted to by Dončić could have ripples for years inside the organization and around the league. The Lakers don’t have to solve all their roster issues in one transaction period — but they have to start finding the answers."

Woike had a similar sentiment in an article with Sam Amick after the Lakers' playoff exit to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as a source told The Athletic reporters that Los Angeles is on the clock with Doncic.

Though LeBron James has been the face of the Lakers for over half a decade, the franchise must start prioritizing its future with Doncic over James, who is set to hit free agency in the coming weeks.

Building a team that fits Doncic's strengths should be the No. 1 goal for general manager Rob Pelinka this offseason, and according to the same report from Amick and Woike, Doncic wants players around him that can resemble what he had with the Dallas Mavericks in 2024 when he made the finals.

"Those promises were to give him a locker room full of his type of players, to find him replicants, if not improvements, of the balanced roster he made a finals run with in Dallas in 2024 before the stunning trade that sent him west," Woike and Amick wrote.

Overall, the Lakers shouldn't make panic moves this summer to try to upgrade the roster. However, the front office also needs to know they need to construct a squad around Doncic capable of rising in the biggest moments in May and June, or things could get ugly in LA in a few years.