It’s looking more and more likely that LeBron James either has one more season left with the Los Angeles Lakers or he has already played his last minutes with the team. After years of building around James, the team is now hyper-focused on Luka Doncic, who is over a decade younger.
It’s a logical decision to make, but James has never been the No. 2 for a franchise. Even at 40, he’s not eager to play second fiddle to Doncic. James has been vocal about his love for Doncic for years, but he didn’t exactly love the way the Lakers handled the whole trade situation, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne.
“James understood the Lakers taking advantage of an opportunity to pivot to the younger superstar,” Windhorst and Shelburne wrote. “But from James’ perspective, sources said, nuance was sometimes lost during the transition. Doncic had never asked to be a Laker. James, for his part, had chosen L.A., coming in 2018 when the team had missed the playoffs five consecutive seasons, the worst run for the franchise since it moved from Minneapolis. Two years later, James had helped deliver a 17th championship.”
Lakers Didn’t Inform James of Doncic Trade
The Lakers have sometimes had communication issues since Rob Pelinka took over as general manager. That hasn’t changed during James’ tenure.
In the past, the Lakers have tried to consult him on many of their major roster moves. However, the Doncic trade was such a delicate situation that Pelinka kept the details hidden from anybody who didn’t need to know.
That included James.
“They did not give him significant notice that they were trading Davis for Doncic — a transgression James forgave, sources said, because of his respect for Doncic and understanding of the franchise’s reasoning for making the trade and for keeping it under wraps for as long as possible,” Windhorst and Shelburne wrote.
James isn’t mad about playing with Doncic, but the Lakers traded away one of his best friends in the process, which likely led to mixed feelings.
James Also Wasn’t Informed of Lakers’ Sell
Not telling James about the Doncic trade is understandable. He’s friends with Davis, and they share an agent, so it would’ve made it more difficult for that not to leak out.
However, the Lakers recently sold majority ownership to Mark Walter. The team had kept Doncic in the loop, but not James.
“When the Buss family agreed to sell a majority stake in the franchise to Mark Walter on June 18, Doncic was given a heads-up and notably posted a congratulations on social media afterward. After the publication of this article, sources said James was notified of the sale, via his representation. But he did not post any public acknowledgement,” Windhorst and Shelburne wrote.
It’s easy to see why that would rub James the wrong way. The team also didn’t offer him any kind of contract extension this offseason. While James appears to be ready to leave Los Angeles, the feelings could be mutual. James has been a great player for the Lakers, but the team is ready to build for the future.
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