{"id":153027,"date":"2025-07-01T08:10:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T12:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=153027"},"modified":"2025-08-01T09:55:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T13:55:00","slug":"luka-doncic-poised-to-copy-kobe-bryants-2013-loyalty-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/01\/luka-doncic-poised-to-copy-kobe-bryants-2013-loyalty-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Luka Don\u010di\u0107 Poised to Copy Kobe Bryant\u2019s 2013 Loyalty Move"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES<\/strong> \u2013 Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s<\/a> trade to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> shocked the league. The first-round exit that followed? Disappointing. But Don\u010di\u0107 didn\u2019t sulk. He went to work. Luka\u00a0transformed<\/a> his body and silenced critics about his conditioning. He stepped up off the court too. Don\u010di\u0107 helped bring<\/a> Deandre Ayton<\/a> and Marcus Smart<\/a> to L.A. after buyouts. Now, he\u2019s set to make his biggest off-court move yet\u2014sacrificing salary. Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s ‘discounted’ contract will be the Lakers\u2019 biggest offseason win.<\/p>\n

Luka Don\u010di\u0107 Poised to Copy Kobe Bryant\u2019s 2013 Loyalty Move With Contract ‘Discount’<\/h2>\n

Why Luka\u2019s Playing the Long Game<\/h3>\n
\"Luka
Jan 27, 2020; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) left shoe pays tribute to Kobe Bryant during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s six-month trade restriction expires August 2. That opens the door to more lucrative options. Until now, he\u2019s only been eligible for a three-year extension worth $156.7 million. But starting August 2, he can sign a four-year deal projected at $222.4 million\u2014or up to $228.6 million if the cap jumps.<\/p>\n

Still, this extension doesn\u2019t make up for what he lost in the trade. Don\u010di\u0107 was eligible for a five-year supermax\u2014projected at $336.9 million\u2014with the Mavericks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s nearly $100 million in lost earnings.<\/p>\n

Had he taken a shorter three-year deal with a player option, he could have opted out after Year 3. That would have set him up to sign a new max deal worth 35% of the cap.<\/p>\n

Instead, reports<\/a> suggest he\u2019ll go for the four-year deal now. This cements Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s contract ‘discount’ as a calculated, team-first decision.<\/p>\n

Why the Lakers Win With Luka\u2019s Choice<\/h3>\n

If the deal happens, Don\u010di\u0107 will earn around $61 million in 2029-30. For comparison, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> will make $70 million that year. Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a> could earn more if he extends next summer.<\/p>\n

Don\u010di\u0107 is easily in their tier\u2014but he\u2019ll be making less. That $10 million gap could be the difference between adding role players or being handcuffed by the second apron.<\/p>\n

Once again, Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s ‘discounted’ contract could reshape the Lakers\u2019 ability to contend in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

Loyalty Like Kobe\u2014But With a Twist<\/h3>\n

In 2013, Kobe Bryant<\/a> took a pay cut. He signed a two-year, $48.5 million deal when he could\u2019ve earned nearly $68 million. His decision was about loyalty. He wanted to retire a Laker. He wanted to help the front office rebuild.<\/p>\n

Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s situation is different. He\u2019s not approaching the end\u2014he\u2019s in his prime. Still, the message is the same. Kobe sacrificed dollars to stay and lead. Now Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s ‘discounted’ contract signals his commitment to doing the same.<\/p>\n

And like Kobe, he\u2019s betting on the big picture.<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2013 Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers shocked the league. The first-round exit that followed? Disappointing. But Don\u010di\u0107 didn\u2019t sulk. He went to work. Luka\u00a0transformed his body and silenced critics about his conditioning. He stepped up off the court too. Don\u010di\u0107 helped bring Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart to L.A. after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":151436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,26,3],"tags":[551,1133,2113],"class_list":["post-153027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-news","tag-kobe-bryant","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nba-contract-extension"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153027"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153034,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153027\/revisions\/153034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}