Luka Dončić’s debut with the Los Angeles Lakers could come as soon as Saturday, and ESPN plans to be ready for it.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick told reporters Wednesday that the team’s newly acquired superstar, who is currently recovering from a calf injury, could be cleared to play Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Times. If Saturday doesn’t work out, the hope would be that he’s ready by Monday.
Dončić has already begun practicing with the team, participating in a 5-on-5 scrimmage in practice Wednesday. He also joined the Lakers on the bench during their win Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
From the Times:
“We’re kind of just assessing it day-by-day. We hope to have him back within the next few games,” Redick said after practice. “He was a participant. We just had non-contact practice today. But we got some good work in for about 45 minutes. And he’ll have a stay-ready game at some point. And over the next two days, Thursday, Friday, he’ll have some more opportunities to play live basketball. And then we’ll make a decision on Saturday. If it’s not Saturday, hopefully it’s Monday.”
Despite the possibility that Dončić won’t be ready, ESPN flexed the Lakers’ game against the Indiana Pacers to its broadcast schedule on Saturday, bumping a game between the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz.
Dončić hasn’t appeared in a game since Christmas Day, when he sustained a calf injury against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks have gone 8-12 since then.
The Lakers’ Luka Dončić era is about to start
The Lakers acquired Dončić in perhaps the most shocking trade in NBA history on Saturday. In exchange for Anthony Davis, who won a championship with the Lakers in 2020, as well as Max Christie and a first-round pick, Los Angeles acquired a player who has made five straight All-NBA teams, just reached his first NBA Finals and is on a Hall of Fame track at 25 years old.
There was no prior indication that the trade was coming — for any of the players involved. Dončić was polite during his introductory news conference with the Lakers on Tuesday but has been whispered to be both heartbroken and seething about the sequence of events that took him out of Dallas. The Mavericks have defended the trade by emphasizing the defensive upgrade that Davis brings and their long-term concerns about Dončić’s conditioning and upcoming supermax contract.
For Los Angeles, the trade leaves Dončić as the long-term face of the Lakers while LeBron James ventures further into the wrong side of 40 — and possibly free agency this offseason. The trade has been widely evaluated as a coup for the Lakers, and they’re on track to show off their new star in the next week.
