LeBron James is all in on the Lakers buying and selling for Luka Doncic, opposite to reviews he was unhappy in regards to the franchise transferring Anthony Davis, his longtime teammate and pal.
After Tuesday’s 122-97 win over the Clippers, James stated he’d have waived his no-trade clause if he had “considerations” in regards to the Doncic acquisition. James additionally supported the Lakers’ resolution 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 stated he is “right here proper now” and is dedicated to serving to Doncic make a seamless transition to his new workforce.
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 stated, through ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I believe you guys know that. And I’ve at all times simply tried to play the sport the best manner and encourage the subsequent technology. And Luka occurs to be one in every of them. And now, we’re teammates. So, it will be a really seamless transition.”
Analysts similar to Charles Barkley and Vince Carter have raised concerns in regards to the Doncic-James pairing from an Xs and Os standpoint. It is no secret that Doncic and James desire to function with the ball of their fingers and are not recognized for his or her off-ball abilities.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue disagrees with the notion that James and Doncic cannot coexist. After his workforce’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 will be an issue in any respect,” Lue stated of the Doncic-James duo. “[Lakers coach] JJ [Redick] will do an excellent 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 is not a troublesome drawback 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 together with his new teammates. The Slovenian was on the Lakers bench for Tuesday’s sport.
