With Luka Trade, Lakers Are Locked In As NBA Ratings Star

Luka Dončić has yet to play a minute for the Lakers, but the team has already started building around him. 

In an early Thursday move, the team acquired Mark Williams, a 23-year-old center from the Hornets for rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick, and a 2030 pick swap. 

The 2031 draft pick was Los Angeles’s only remaining first-round pick that had yet to be dealt, thus emptying the Lakers of any other moves to make that don’t involve their current roster. Williams is in his third year in the NBA and has improved his scoring, rebounding, and shooting numbers all three years as a pro, giving Dončić a guard/center pair the team could build around. 

But the team’s week in transactions seemed to solidify itself as the NBA’s TV ratings linchpin in the coming media-rights deal over the next decade. 

“It’s a gift,” Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said at Dončić’s introductory press conference when asked about having up to a decade of runway with him. “We’re talking about a 25-year-old player who is a top-three player in the universe.” 

The Lakers acquired Dončić from the Mavericks over the weekend in a stunner that saw the team trade away star power forward Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. Dončić’s contract expires after next season, but all indications are he will sign an extension with the Lakers sometime this summer, before signing a longer one down the road. The most Dončić could be extended is four years and $229 million. But he could sign a two-year extension with a player-option in the third year that would bring him to 10 years of NBA service time; that would make him eligible to sign a supermax contract before turning 30. 

With no moves left to make, Dončić, Williams, and Austin Reaves will be the team’s core for the foreseeable future alongside LeBron James, who at 40 likely has only a few years—at most—remaining in his legendary career. 

But assuming he signs an extension, Dončić gives the NBA a long-term star player through his prime in one of its two biggest markets through most, if not all, of the lifespan of the new media-rights deal, which runs for 11 years, is worth $77 billion, and starts next season, providing a ratings boost while ensuring one of the league’s most valuable franchises is relevant after James retires. Should Dončić remain a Laker through the span of the media-rights deal, he’ll be 36 when it ends, or the current age of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, who have both played well into their twilight. 

The NBA’s ratings have been a major source of concern throughout the season. Commissioner Adam Silver admitted in December they were slightly down year-over-year, with the high number of three-point shots among the main criticisms. Silver recently proposed shortening the game’s four quarters from 12 minutes to 10, as a possible fix, but expressed doubt it would happen.  

“I think Luka Dončić joining forces with the Los Angeles Lakers is a seismic event in NBA history,” Pelinka said at Dončić’s press conference. “We have a 25-year-old global superstar that is going to get on the stage of the most popular and influential basketball brand on the globe.”

Those in the NBA’s New York offices would likely agree with him. 

While the Lakers will likely need a new costar alongside Dončić after James retires, playing alongside the Slovenian superstar will be an attraction for free agents and trade candidates. Pelinka has shown he can be a sneaky good executive around the margins, too, hitting on undervalued assets through his tenure, which will be vital in constructing the rest of the roster, too. 

Reaves was an undrafted free agent who has emerged as one of the team’s starting guards. Christie, who was traded to Dallas, was a second-round pick and has improved in each of his first three seasons. 

By trading for Dončić, the Lakers shifted their priorities from building around James and the present to looking ahead. Pelinka’s executive career to this point has been tied to James, but it will be defined by what he does (or doesn’t do) with Dončić. 

Luckily for the NBA, everyone will be watching.