Los Angeles' transition from the Buss family to new ownership makes Doncic's potential 2028 free agency more intriguing, even if a return to Dallas remains highly unlikely.
DALLAS - The Los Angeles Lakers just closed the book on one of the most storied ownership tenures in sports.
On Monday, the Buss family sold its remaining stake in the franchise to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. The same group purchased the majority stake from Mark Walter a week earlier at a record $12.5 billion valuation. The move ends 45 years of Buss family control and removes Jeanie Buss from her role as team governor.
For Mavericks fans, the natural question is what this means for Luka Doncic, the superstar Dallas infamously traded away and whether any of this could ever bring him back.
The timing makes it interesting. Doncic is entering a pivotal stretch of his career, with a supermax extension available next offseason in 2027. Throughout his time in Los Angeles, Doncic has spoken glowingly about the Buss family, publicly thanking Jeanie for welcoming him to Los Angeles and expressing excitement about the franchise's direction.
That relationship, built on the family's decades of championship pedigree and star treatment, is now gone.
Iger and Kushner have no established history with Doncic. But new ownership groups should understand one thing above all else: Pay your superstar what he's worth. When the supermax offer arrives next offseason, likely a five-year deal worth well north of $400 million, there is every reason to believe Iger and Kushner will put it on the table without hesitation.
Retaining a generational talent entering his prime is the easiest decision any owner will face. Letting Doncic walk would be an unthinkable way for a new regime to begin its tenure.
But ...
Here's where a dreamy hypothetical gets interesting for Dallas fans.
What if Doncic, for whatever reason, doesn't want to sign that supermax right away? If he declines the extension and bets on himself, it would set up a fascinating 2028 offseason, when his future would become one of the biggest stories in the NBA.
In that scenario, the idea of a return to Dallas would inevitably resurface.
The honest answer is that a reunion remains highly unlikely and the reason is simple: Patrick Dumont. The Mavericks governor was at the center of the decision to trade Doncic, a move that fractured the relationship between the superstar and the franchise. MavsRoundtable.com's Grant Afseth has reported that, per sources, Doncic dislikes Dumont, a dynamic that could directly affect whether he would ever consider returning to Dallas.
Luka loves Dallas. And it can be argued that Cooper Flagg's presence here is a lure that the Lakers do not possess.
Still, as long as Dumont remains in charge, Doncic returning to Dallas feels like a non-starter. The wounds from that trade are still fresh and the person at the center of the decision remains in power.
Still, Mavericks fans have learned that ownership dynamics can change quickly. Dallas experienced it when Mark Cuban sold his majority stake to the Adelson family and Dumont took over as governor, a transition that eventually led to the Doncic trade.
Ownership changes reshape front offices, alter philosophies and rewrite a franchise's trajectory. What seems impossible under one regime can look different under the next.
That's the thread connecting both franchises now. Doncic has played under multiple ownership groups in a short span, from Cuban to Dumont in Dallas, then from the Buss family to Walter to Iger and Kushner in Los Angeles.
For now, the most probable outcome is straightforward. Doncic signs his supermax in 2027, commits to the Lakers long term and spends the next decade as the face of that franchise. ... instead of this one.
