LeBron James has performed alongside Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, however Luka Doncic is arguably his most proficient teammate ever. The thought of James and Doncic enjoying collectively wasn’t even within the realm of chance till the Mavericks did the unthinkable over the weekend.
Whereas the Lakers fanbase is understandably elated in regards to the commerce, Charles Barkley believes the franchise erred by pairing James and Doncic. Speaking to NBA TV on Sunday, Barkley mentioned he cannot see the 2 stars thriving collectively from an Xs and Os standpoint.
“This factor shouldn’t be going to be easy in L.A. with him and LeBron, as a result of each of them need the ball one hundred pc of the time,” Barkley mentioned of Doncic’s match. “Luka doesn’t transfer with out the ball. LeBron doesn’t transfer with out the ball. There’s going to be some critical rising pains when these two attempt to play collectively. Now, they’re each nice gamers, do not get me improper, however LeBron desires the ball, and Luka positively desires the ball. So, it should be very attention-grabbing how that works out.”
On the flip facet, Barkley believes Davis will “make a seamless transition” to the Mavericks for the reason that ex-Laker will revert to his pure place of energy ahead subsequent to Dereck Vigorous II and Daniel Gafford. The Corridor of Famer added that the Lakers and Mavericks “will have to win a championship” to justify the blockbuster commerce and declare success.
Within the aftermath of the commerce, there was chatter of James doubtlessly asking out of Los Angeles, given his closeness to the departing Davis. Nevertheless, insider Chris Haynes noted that James intends to stay a Laker previous the Feb. 6 commerce deadline. Haynes’ report got here after it was revealed that James “had no idea” in regards to the deal that materialized within the shadows and was shocked by the information.
