Luka Doncic's EuroBasket Dominance: A Glimpse into the Lakers' Future?

At one point during the tournament, sources told ESPN, St. Jean showed a video edit of Doncic's defensive effort to Slovenia's coach, Aleksander Sekulić. St. Jean believed that Doncic, beyond his offensive brilliance, was the team's best defensive player, too. The edit showed -- possession by possession -- Doncic's proper placement, communication with teammates and overall commitment.

Pelinka saw it, too and registered it as an advancement in Doncic's leadership ability.

"Players playing basketball in the offseason is something that, from a leadership standpoint, I support," Pelinka said. "I think you could say in some sense that some of the offseason and sort of the current basketball lens, especially in the States, is on individual work. And I think that sort of the team environment can get lost."

It was part of the cost-benefit analysis that Pelinka considered when endorsing Doncic's EuroBasket participation. Yes, more basketball and additional activity could put a player at risk of injury -- a fear that came to fruition when a teammate fell into his leg against Latvia on Aug. 16 and Doncic suffered a right knee contusion.

Still, Pelinka said, he'd make the same decision.

"There's risk in anything," he said. "There's risks in over-individualized training and wearing muscles down that way, or joints down that way. Luka's incredibly thoughtful about how he approaches his way to improve as a basketball player. And I think you can tell he is the highest form of himself when he is in a competitive environment. That's just what animates him."

WITH TRAINING CAMP opening later this month, Doncic and the Lakers see his EuroBasket summer as a perfect setup for the season ahead.

Doncic had led a Slovenian team filled with, as one league source described to ESPN, players mostly below NCAA Division I-level talent to the quarterfinals of one of the most competitive tournaments in the world. What could he do, in a full season, with LeBron James and Austin Reaves?

While Doncic and the Lakers used the summer to demonstrate their commitment to one another, the season will bring new challenges to meet each of their expectations.

Doncic has struggled to maintain healthy habits within the rigors of an 82-game season, constant travel and managing the stress that comes from losses (or even the joys from wins). And for Pelinka and the Lakers, it's one thing to put together an international itinerary; it's quite another to put together a deal to improve this star-laden roster, and figure out the trade assets to do so.

Still, the summer provided a stable foundation ahead of whatever rocky terrain both sides might have to navigate.

The experience, Doncic told ESPN, already made him feel more connected to L.A.

"The support from the Lakers organization and Laker Nation [was] amazing," he said. "It meant so much to me that Rob, Jeanie, Kurt, Linda and Dr. Sims came to Poland and that Lakers fans were watching EuroBasket and cheering for Slovenia."

And Doncic's play was a reminder to the Lakers that there's no time to wait for the LeBron Era to end before building the Luka one.

Breaking News from Shams Charania

"Luka's play in EuroBasket made it clear to the entire basketball world that he's on that incredibly short list of 'best player on the planet' candidates, if not at the top," Pelinka said. "In terms of team building, we've talked about the importance of having optionality and when I use that word, it's not to say in the future. I think optionality is also in the now. Having both Luka as arguably the best player on the planet and LeBron James, who is still in the mix of being one of the great players in our game, even at his age, continues to allow us to think carefully about the value of that optionality."

L.A. will open training camp with 14 players on the roster, including Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) on expiring contracts. They can include one of their 2031 or 2032 first-round picks in a potential deal. And with Doncic signed long term, the Lakers are open to trading for a player on a contract that extends beyond 2026, sources told ESPN.

"If there are smart ways to pour into our championship aspirations for next year, we will execute on those," Pelinka said. "And we see having those two players on our team next year [as] an important moment, and we'll continue to try to do all we can to deliver this franchise its 18th championship."

Coming off this summer of matched investment toward that goal, there is certainly alignment.

"He stresses every single day that his goal is to win a championship," a source close to Doncic told ESPN. "He trusts the front office to do their part, and he trusts what they're building."