Doncic s perfect summer! Recruiting strong players to lose weight and lose weight and renew their contracts. The ultimate transformation of the new season?

As expected, Doncic renewed the contract with the Lakers as soon as possible after the early renewal window opened, signing a 2+1 contract with flexibility (3-year maximum salary of US$165 million, and there is a player option in 2028). In this way, he can jump out of the contract after three years to sign a super maximum salary with a starting salary of 35% of the salary cap. The contract is worth US$417 million for a five-year period, with an average annual salary of US$83.4 million.

Experience can make people grow. After experiencing the pain of being traded last season and the loneliness of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Doncic showed his determination to change, and he has greatly improved from his own state to his leadership temperament.

Doncic discussed a reinforcement plan with Pelinka and Redick, and recruited Ayton and Smart to join. Doncic took his team to Croatia for special training, completing weight loss and targeted improvement, and then returned to Los Angeles to sign a contract extension to give the Lakers a long-term commitment and shouting a declaration of championship competition. Many industry insiders, including Draymond Green, are optimistic about Doncic's new season outbreak and reaping honors such as regular season MVP.

A text message

On May 1, 2025, the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves 96-103 in the first round of the playoffs, and were eliminated 1-4 with a big score. Doncic scored 28 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists, but his shooting percentage was only 38.9%. Doncic brought the Mavericks to the finals a year ago, but a year later, he stopped in the first round in the Lakers. The huge gap from peak to trough disappointed Doncic.

In just a few months, Doncic experienced a huge emotional impact. He thought he could live his life, but ended up being traded during his recovery period. He was surrounded by various black materials and doubts about his body shape and self-discipline, but he failed to prove himself in the playoffs. These experiences hurt him very much, but also brought motivation.

The day after the Lakers were eliminated in the first round, Doncic sent a text message to his agent Siegel, proposing to start formulating an offseason training plan immediately, and he regards this failed season as a turning point in his personal growth.

"Every summer I try my best to improve different technologies, I am very competitive, but this summer is a little different," Doncic said.

A dinner

Before leaving the United States to start implementing offseason training plan, Doncic has one more thing to do: determine the offseason team building plan with the Lakers management and unify the direction.

On May 4, Doncic, Siegel, Lakers General Managers Pelinka and Redick appeared at the famous Craig restaurant in Los Angeles for dinner. This is not an ordinary dinner, but a sign that the Lakers have completely pushed Doncic to the core position of the team building.

Pellinka and Redick explained to Doncic how to build a team based on their technical characteristics, the chips the Lakers currently have, and the Lakers' plans to deal with the new labor-capital agreement. Doncic put forward a clear need for the Lakers: a center forward with the ability to finish at the basket, a shooter who can provide offensive firepower from the outside, and a defensive gate.

"I don't want to wait," Doncic said at this dinner. He didn't want to talk about the illusory plan for 2027. "I have tasted the taste of entering the finals, and I am eager to return to the finals. So, we must do everything we can now."

Fight the day and win in the present.

A special training

In mid-May, Doncic left the United States and returned to Europe. He went to a sports science laboratory in Madrid, Spain for a comprehensive physical test, collecting various physical data as a guide for the entire summer training program. Afterwards, Doncic took his personal team to a quiet town in Croatia. In previous years, he would have been here for vacation during the offseason. This time, he specially transported dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls and other training equipment for training, turning the resort into a devil's training base.

This is not the first time Doncic has implemented a weight loss plan, but it is definitely the most thorough one he has implemented. From diet to training programs, Doncic's execution has not been discounted at all.

The schedule is intensive and the journey is heavy during the season, and Doncic has no time to adjust the diet. In addition, Doncic likes to drink some beer and smokes a few sips of hookah, and his living habits have been criticized. This special training started in June, Doncic adopted intermittent fasting, which is commonly known as the 16+8 light fasting method (eat within 8 hours and not eat for 16 hours). At the advice of the nutritionist, Doncic only eats two high-protein meals and a cup of protein shake six days a week, and the first meal every day is placed after 90 minutes of training in the morning.

As famous speaker Skip said, the 16+8 fasting method is a sudden weight loss method, and there is a possibility of rebound after returning to normal diet. However, Doncic has professional team guidance, which consumes a lot of training and competitions, and the probability of rebound is relatively low. This method is designed to reduce inflammation in the body and helps the body recover better. In terms of training, Doncic did not conduct ball training in the previous month after the end of the season. His team asked Doncic to devote his time to strength training and other sports. The core purpose is to exercise the strength of the whole body and to use other sports to exercise other muscle groups. Throughout July, Doncic's team used tools such as a thick resistance band to train Doncic's ability to generate centrifugal force from all angles, improving his sense of balance, body control, and slowing ability. A training class arranged multiple projects, giving Doncic almost no time to breathe.

When Doncic was invited to shoot and interview with Men's Health magazine, Doncic in the photo was so thin that it made people feel unreal. He laughed and said that he "bounced higher than before." The real person appeared at the press conference for renewal, and Doncic gave everyone a more intuitive understanding of how good his physical condition is now.

Recruiting

Pellinka is worthy of being the god of the buyout market. The Lakers signed Ayton for 2 years and $16.6 million, and signed Smart for 2 years and $11 million, introducing the "final center" and "defensive gate" that Doncic wants.. How much oil is left in the fuel tank of Ayton and Smart is another topic. From the perspective of talent, resume, and cost-effectiveness, the Lakers cannot find a better choice on the market than Ayton and Smart. Doncic made an indelible contribution to Pelinka's ability to give these two contracts to the right players.

It is reported that Ayton took the initiative to negotiate a buyout with the Trail Blazers. In order to play in a winning environment, he gave up about $10 million. After becoming a free agent, Ayton received olive branches from multiple teams. Doncic and Ayton's agents are Bill Duffy. He used this relationship to get the first place to recruit Ayton to join the Lakers. Although Ayton's performance in the past two years has not been ideal, Doncic has seen Ayton's performance in the 2021 Suns Finals journey, and he is eager to join forces with Ayton.

Smart negotiated with the Wizards and gave up about $6.8 million and bought out the contract and returned to his free self. In addition to the Lakers, the Suns and the Bucks also expressed strong interest in Smart, and Doncic's recruitment call completed the "best kill". Smart sighed: "When a player at Doncic's level calls you personally to find out if you are interested in joining his plan and tell me that he needs my help, which means a lot to me."

For the Lakers, the effect of these two signings (and signing Laravia) is still unknown, but what the Lakers can be sure of is that they already have the ideal team-building core of the post-James era.

The detours and setbacks he encountered in the past have made Doncic learn to be more self-disciplined and harder. He tried to become a better team leader by leading by example and actively recruiting.

The brand new Doncic is more enterprising than in previous years. What Doncic needs to do next is to maintain it, especially in terms of self-discipline. Like Nowitzki, Kobe, and Jordan mentioned, he should turn self-discipline into a habit, complete transformation, and fulfill his promise to "help the Lakers win the championship."