It’s speculation season for the Los Angeles Lakers now that they’ve been eliminated from playoff contention. LeBron James certainly has certainly added to the rumor mill with some of his latest comments. The superstar forward recently said on “The Shop” that Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry is one player in the NBA he’d like to play with most.
Naturally, those comments caused a bit of a stir as almost everything LeBron says is considered calculated. Lost in the Curry talk was the fact that the Lakers star also mentioned Luka Doncic as a player he’d want to play with. LeBron hasn’t been shy about his love for the Dallas Mavericks star in the past. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes that there could be more to LeBron’s Doncic love.
“I would say something else though,” Windhorst said on Get Up. “As part of this answer, LeBron was having fun here to be clear. He wasn’t making a declarative statement. He talked about how much he admires Luka Doncic, and that is something that you should put in your back pocket.”
Windhorst went into further detail about LeBron’s admiration for the 23-year-old superstar.
“The best way you can see how LeBron feels about people is who he drafts in his All-Star draft,” Windhorst said. “He has drafted Luka Doncic all three years he’s been an All-Star.
“He tried to recruit Luka Doncic to his brand within Nike a few years ago. Luka picked the Jordan brand instead. He, I think, would also love to play with Luka.”
.@WindhorstESPN says to keep the idea of LeBron and Luka teaming up in your back pocket 👀
“The best way you can see how LeBron feels about people is who he drafts in his All-Star draft. … He’s drafted Luka Doncic all three years he’s been an All-Star.”
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Mavericks Could Be Appealing to LeBron
At first glance, it’d be really hard to see LeBron even considering joining the Mavericks. Team owner Mark Cuban is one of the bigger personalities in the NBA but he doesn’t appear to have any beef with the 18-time All-Star, but Dallas isn’t the first market anybody would imagine LeBron targeting.
However, the Mavericks do have a few things going for them. First of all, they have a better team than the Lakers right now. They had a 51-30 record this season despite only having one true star in Doncic. Also, head coach Jason Kidd and LeBron have a very good relationship. If the Lakers have another disaster of a season next year, perhaps the Mavericks might look somewhat appealing to the superstar. It’s still unlikely but he might get excited about the chance to play a season or two with Doncic.
Any Chance Doncic Could Come to the Lakers?
Unfortunately for LeBron, the chances of Doncic playing with him in Los Angeles are very low. He’s under contract until 2027 and LeBron should be retired by then. The only way Doncic is coming to the Lakers is if he forces a trade to them.
There’s no reason to believe he’s still unhappy with the Mavericks after there were rumors of tension last year. He could’ve simply not signed a contract extension last year and forced his way out. There’s also no way the Mavericks would give him easily even if requested a trade. Maybe in the future, Doncic could be a Laker but it’s not happening while LeBron’s with the team barring a miracle.
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LeBron Teaming up With Young 3-Time All-Star Can’t Be Ruled out, per Insider