There’s a changing of the guard at the Los Angeles Lakers and as things stands, LeBron James isn’t completely comfortable with it.
The trade to bring Luka Doncic to LA from the Dallas Mavericks shook the NBA world to its core earlier this year. The move, a bolt from the blue announced in the middle of the night back in February, saw LeBron immediately having to share center stage with the Slovenian.
Last week, LeBron’s not-so-cryptic Instagram post hitting out at unnamed critics raised plenty of eyebrows given how it coincided with the buildup to Doncic’s new three-year, $165million contract.
‘Say whatever you want but you damn sure won’t be able to say I didn’t put in the WORK!!’ James, the face of the Lakers for seven years, wrote with a picture of himself of working out. ‘We’ll see what happens when I no longer exist. Man F this Shhhhhh.’
Now, a source has told Daily Mail that ‘King James’ isn’t ready to vacate his crown just yet.
‘Now that the Lakers are clearly Luka’s team, there is a rift with the Lakers and LeBron that will only be fixed by winning,’ the insider said.
LeBron James isn’t too comfortable with Luka Doncic’s position at the Los Angeles Lakers
Last Saturday, Doncic signed a new three-year, $165million contract with the team
James posted an angry caption to the above post last week, around the time of Doncic’s deal
‘If the upcoming season goes off the rails early, LeBron is ready to ask for a trade.
‘And if he were not given one, at the end of the season he will pull a Tom Brady and go to another team that has the best chance of giving him that one more championship he so desperately wants.’
James, a four-time NBA champion and the highest points scorer in the league’s history, turns 41 on December 30.
Like it or not, Doncic’s presence unquestionably makes the Lakers more of a force but the playoffs came too soon for the Lakers last season.
Donic and James hadn’t had enough time to gel into the force many think that they could become. They were eliminated from the NBA playoffs in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It’s a situation James knows he can’t repeat again as he battles to keep Father Time at bay.
‘He is getting to the end of his career and doesn’t want to play for a team that has difficulty making the playoffs,’ the source said. ‘It is his last chance to end his career on his own terms and this is his current plan.’
According to ESPN, James video called Doncic to congratulate him on his new contract. But he was not among the teammates who attended the press conference to support Doncic in-person on Saturday. And sometimes, actions speak far louder than words.
At 40, James knows time is of the essence – but he is unsure the Lakers is the place to be
The Lakers preseason begins October 3 and the schedule for the 2025 season shouldn’t be too far away – it is typically announced in the middle of August.
From there, James might be able to map out exactly what the future holds. He is entering a record-setting 23rd season in the NBA on a whopping $52.6million deal.
For a billionaire, however, the money only counts for so much. A fifth championship is what he craves.
His agent, Rich Paul, said as much with a somewhat cryptic comment in June: ‘LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.
‘We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count.’
For now, at least, James plans to do that with the Lakers.