Stein: If Doncic refuses the 28-year player option & signs a new contract with the Lakers, it will include a trade veto.

Yesterday, the Lakers officially announced that they had reached an early contract renewal with Luka Doncic.

According to subsequent reports from famous reporter Stein, the three-year contract that Doncic chose to sign includes the player options for the 2028-29 season. This allows him to become a free agent in the summer of 2028 and have the opportunity to sign a five-year contract that exceeds $400 million. This Lakers' second contract will far exceed the five-year super-max salary contract he originally expected to sign with the Mavericks, worth about $340 million.

In addition, Doncic's chosen contract structure also brings another benefit: as long as he becomes a full free agent and signs a brand new contract, he is eligible to include a full trade veto in his next contract.

Under NBA regulations, players must have eight years of service and four years of playing on the same team to obtain a complete trade veto. However, the transaction veto can only be added to the new contract; alliance rules prohibit it from being added to the renewal contract.

Although technically Doncic will only play for the Lakers for 3.5 seasons when he can reject the 2028-29 player option and become a free agent, sources revealed that he will be seen as having played for four seasons with the Lakers at that time, as he will finish four consecutive seasons wearing a purple-gold jersey by then.

Currently, only LeBron James and Damian Lillard (who just obtained this clause in his new contract) have a complete veto on the deal.