Luka Doncic is officially a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but when will he make his debut for his new team?
In late December, Doncic went down with a calf strain in what we now know to have been his final game as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. At that point, reporting indicated that the team would re-evaluate him in one month. It has now been a little more than a month, so Doncic should be nearing a return.
And according to Marc Stein, that is indeed the case. Stein reported Thursday that Doncic and the Lakers are targeting Monday’s home game against the Utah Jazz for Doncic’s debut with Los Angeles. Saturday’s game against the Indiana Pacers was originally thought to be an option, but the team wants to see how Doncic responds after participating in five-on-five work at practice this week. If no setback occurs, Doncic could be on the court in a Lakers uniform on Monday.
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The Lakers have back-to-back games against the Jazz — in Los Angeles on Monday and then Wednesday in Salt Lake City — before the All-Star break. The Lakers return to action on Feb. 19 against the Charlotte Hornets following the break, so Doncic will have several opportunities against lottery opponents to continue to get his feet wet with the Lakers.
Doncic won’t be the only new Laker kicking off a tenure with the team in mid-February. With Anthony Davis now in Dallas, the Lakers acquired Mark Williams from the Hornets to serve as their primary rim protector and a lob finisher for Doncic and LeBron James in the pick-and-roll.
Whenever Doncic does ultimately suit up for the Lakers, it will be with a vastly different roster than we’ve seen out of them this season.
