Luka Dončić says he wants to remain in Los Angeles long-term

While so much about his situation has changed in recent months, Luka Dončić is enjoying life in LA and wants to remain with the Lakers for a long time.

Loyalty is a quality that means a great deal to Luka Dončić. Unfortunately, it was not something that was reciprocated by his former team.

To be clear, loyalty has always meant very little to NBA front offices and franchises, but it’s never been as clear — and shocking — as when Luka was dealt from the Mavs to the Lakers.

One team’s loss is another team’s gain, though. The loyalty that Luka had shown Dallas, which centered on his desire to end his career with the Mavs, appears to have shifted straight to Los Angeles.

In his interview with Malika Andrews of ESPN, Luka was asked about his future and he expressed his desire to remain with the Lakers moving forward.

Now, this isn’t some matter of blind loyalty to whatever franchise has him. There are many reasons Luka would want to remain with the Lakers.

For one, he has a great relationship with head coach JJ Redick, dating back to their brief time together as teammates. That hasn’t always been the case in Luka’s career as Rick Carlisle’s exit from Dallas was at least partially attributed to him and the superstar not seeing eye-to-eye.

He also gets to play with LeBron James, at least in the short term. That might not impact his long-term outlook with the team, but it’s easy for him to say he wants to play in LA when he gets that opportunity in the present.

Things are going really well with the Lakers right now and the vibes are high. It’s no surprise he wants to remain in LA, and it’s hard to see this franchise betraying that loyalty like his last one did.

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