LeBron James is thrilled about the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Luka Doncic, but that move might also signal that the team will now keep an eye on the future. In his postgame press conference after the Lakers’ 122-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, James was asked if he is worried that the front office will now look to the future and not maximize the team’s chances of winning right now.
“What’s wrong with that? If I had concerns, I’d have waived my no-trade clause and got up out of here,” James said.
James, who had 26 points (8-13 FG), eight rebounds, nine assists, and three steals against the Clippers, also dismissed questions about his future with the Lakers.
“Listen, I’m here right now,” James stated. “I’m committed to the Lakers organization. I’m here to help Luka and Maxi (Kleber) make the transition as smooth as possible.”
There was some talk that James might be on his way out after the Lakers traded Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 unprotected first-round pick to the Mavericks for Doncic. The Warriors were rumored to be the landing spot, but the 40-year-old isn’t going anywhere.
It has been reported that the Lakers want James to mentor Doncic, and there is no one better to learn from. As for how LeBron learned of this shocking trade on Saturday night, he spoke about that postgame, too.
“My emotions were all over the place,” James said. “Obviously, we had just come off a big win. A huge win in the Garden. I was out. I mean, you guys have seen the report. I was out with my family at dinner and got the news, and the first time I heard it, I thought it was for sure fake.
“I thought it was a hoax,” James continued. “People messing around or whatever. But AD FaceTimed me, and I talked to him for quite a while. Even when I got off the phone with him, it still didn’t seem real.
“Pretty much didn’t seem real until I saw Luka today, and then I saw the clip of AD at the Dallas shootaround,” James added. “That’s when it finally hit me, like, ‘Oh s***, this is real.'”
Well, everyone thought it was a hoax at first. NBA insider Shams Charania was the first to report the trade and the immediate reaction was that he had been hacked. There was no way the Mavericks were trading Doncic, but it was soon confirmed that he was indeed headed to the Lakers.
It will be fascinating to see James and Doncic play together and the former stated in his postgame interview on the court that he expects this to be a special partnership.
“It’s going to be special, I think so,” James said. “We’re gonna attract a lot of eyes. Obviously, our ability to score, rebound, pass, it’s going to make it a lot easier on our teammates and that’s all we want to do. We want to be able to create opportunities for our teammates where they only have to catch-finish, catch-dunk, catch-shoot and it’s our job to lead them every single night.”
“Listen, Luka is a big-time player,” James continued. “(He’s) 25 years old, haven’t even reached his prime yet, and he’s done some amazing s*** in our league already. I’m happy to have him, LA is happy to have him and It’s still a little bit surreal, to be honest.”
Every team in the league (apart from the Mavericks) would love to have Doncic, who is averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2024-25. We might get to see him and James in action for the first time as teammates only on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, as he is still recovering from a calf injury.
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