"As the dishes were served in Katowice, Poland -- a salad for Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss; fish for Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka; and a steak and vegetables, plus a salad, for the man they flew more than 6,000 miles to see -- the Lakers' traveling representatives made it clear over a long lunch in late August that if something was important to Luka Doncic, then it was important to them, too."
"Luka has a tremendous amount of heartfelt pride and appreciation for his roots and playing for his country. I just think in the partnerships we have with our players, the Lakers want to be mindful of players' passions and who they are as men and then lean in and support those things. So, around Luka, it was a very easy partnership decision that we wanted to support."
The Lakers traveled to Katowice, Poland, to support Luka Doncic as he prepared to play for Slovenia at EuroBasket. Team executives, including Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka, shared a long lunch with Doncic and signaled organizational backing for his decision. Doncic arrived trimmed down after months of workouts and a daily 16-hour intermittent fasting window. The team viewed EuroBasket as a chance to build trust after Doncic signed a three-year, $165 million extension and to establish operational best practices following the February trade with Dallas. Pelinka and Dr. Leroy Sims were included in a group chat before and after every game.
Read at ESPN.com
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