Maybe the writing was on the wall back in February. But now it’s big, bold, purple and gold.
LeBron James is no longer the centerpiece of the Los Angeles Lakers. Luka Dončić is the new franchise cornerstone.
The cracks of that tectonic shift have been forming over the last five-plus months. A fissure could result.
The Lakers are trying to navigate a transition of power from one of the sport’s greatest players of all time. As ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst comprehensively reported Friday, behind the scenes, the organization hasn’t been making that change subtly.
Shelburne and Windhorst’s report revealed that James was not given a heads-up about the sale of the franchise from the Buss family to Mark Walter, whereas the 26-year-old Dončić was.
Additionally, the Lakers didn’t offer James an extension, according to ESPN, implying that general manager Rob Pelinka was comfortable having the 40-year-old, four-time NBA champion on an expiring contract for the 2025-26 season.
Although James picked up his $52.6 million player option in late June, the news came with an eyebrow-raising statement from his agent, Rich Paul, who reportedly had to inform the organization of James’ decision to opt in after the Lakers didn’t engage in “substantial discussions” about a potential extension.
“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future,” Paul said in the statement to ESPN’s Shams Charania. “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, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”
While Paul reached out to Dončić and the Lakers before releasing that statement, according to ESPN, James reportedly hasn’t been receiving the same kind of advance notice from the organization that he had been privy to for seven-plus years after joining the Lakers in 2018.
The ESPN report details how James wasn’t given significant warning that they were trading his longtime friend and teammate, Anthony Davis, to the Dallas Mavericks for Dončić. At the time, James even told reporters he initially thought the trade “was a hoax.” Because James has immense respect for Dončić, and because the four-time MVP understood the Lakers’ decision to make the deal and keep it secret for as long as they did, he “forgave” the Lakers for not keeping him in the loop there, per ESPN.
But James was also not notified beforehand about the franchise changing hands last month, according to ESPN. A reportedly in-the-know Dončić posted on social media, praising the Lakers organization and embracing the change in ownership. As ESPN reported, James didn’t follow suit with a public acknowledgement.
James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He’s a 21-time All-Star who has won championships with three teams, including the Lakers. He’s also a global phenomenon and a successful entrepreneur.
Throughout James’ professional basketball career, he’s consistently been the first to know about happenings involving the teams he’s played for. That’s reportedly no longer the case, as illustrated in Shelburne and Windhorst’s reporting on Friday.
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