LeBron James trade rumors are real. Very real. Luka Doncic has an opinion on it that he’s shared with the Los Angeles Lakers’ brain trust – that kind of real.
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It’s unclear if it will happen, but Doncic reportedly wants James to stay in the City of Angels. As ClutchPoints’ Anthony Irwin noted, though, Doncic isn’t going to hold it against anyone if the front office decides to cut ties with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
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“Sources close to the team made it clear all summer no trade exists that would make them a better team, let alone one that James would waive his no-trade clause for,” Irwin wrote.
“Pelinka is also kicking off the Luka Doncic era and would not want to do so with a worse roster than he finished the year with last season. Trading James would’ve almost assuredly led to this outcome. For his part, league sources also indicated Doncic did not want James traded, but also understood James needing to figure out what was best for him the last couple seasons of his career.”
James has never played on a team that valued anyone else over him. At age 40, his dealing with it for the first time is impressive. It will be a long time before a player has this kind of longevity without suffering any major injuries in his career. Who knows how long it’ll take for another four-time NBA champion, who also happened to win four regular season MVP awards. And probably should’ve won more.
James is dealing with being “the other guy” for the first time, and it doesn’t seem to be going well.
For the first time since his original Cleveland Cavaliers tenure, he’s not close personal friends with his co-star. Unlike Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, and Anthony Davis, Doncic is not a gold medal winner for Team USA Basketball.
Odds are, James will finish his career with friends. Whether that’s in 2025-26 or later is the answer we’ll have to continue waiting on.