LeBron James is all in on the Lakers buying and selling for Luka Doncic, opposite to stories he was unhappy concerning the franchise shifting Anthony Davis, his longtime teammate and buddy.
After Tuesday’s 122-97 win over the Clippers, James mentioned he’d have waived his no-trade clause if he had “issues” concerning the Doncic acquisition. James additionally supported the Lakers’ choice to construct for the longer term with Doncic because the face of the franchise.
When requested if he nonetheless sees himself ending his profession as a Laker, the 40-year-old mentioned he is “right here proper now” and is dedicated to serving to Doncic make a seamless transition to his new staff.
James additionally expressed pleasure about sharing the court docket with Doncic.
“Luka’s been my favourite participant within the NBA for some time now,” James mentioned, through ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I feel you guys know that. And I’ve at all times simply tried to play the sport the correct method and encourage the following era. And Luka occurs to be one in every of them. And now, we’re teammates. So, it will be a really seamless transition.”
Analysts resembling Charles Barkley and Vince Carter have raised concerns concerning the Doncic-James pairing from an Xs and Os standpoint. It is no secret that Doncic and James want to function with the ball of their palms and are not recognized for his or her off-ball expertise.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue disagrees with the notion that James and Doncic cannot coexist. After his staff’s loss on Tuesday, Lue — who coached James for a number of years in Cleveland — in contrast the James-Doncic pairing to the James-Kyrie Irving duo that captured a championship in 2016.
“I do not see it’ll be an issue in any respect,” Lue mentioned of the Doncic-James duo. “[Lakers coach] JJ [Redick] will do a very good job of staggering these guys, type of like we did with Kyrie [Irving] and LeBron for 3 quarters after which shut video games collectively. It isn’t a tricky downside to have.”
Lakers followers may get a primary glimpse of Doncic and James as teammates imminently. Doncic, coping with a calf pressure, is broadly anticipated to make his Lakers debut against the Jazz on Monday. Doncic has already acclimatized himself along with his new teammates. The Slovenian was on the Lakers bench for Tuesday’s recreation.
