The relationship between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers is more tenuous than its ever been, and much of the reason for that has to do with Luka Doncic. Since the Lakers acquired the former Dallas Mavericks superstar in a shocking trade, they have moved the direction of their franchise firmly his way, reportedly leaving James behind in the process.
The culmination of this was the Lakers reportedly not offering LeBron a contract extension when he was weighing whether or not to pick up his player option. It leaves James vulnerable as an expiring contract for the first time in his career. And so, with all that in mind, it’s fair to wonder about the relationship between the Lakers tenured star and their new star with James and Doncic.
However, it appears that the two have a great relationship filled with mutual respect and admiration for one another. Luka’s agent — Lara Beth Seager — confirmed that with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN:
“Luka loves playing with LeBron and has learned so much from him. He has nothing but the utmost respect for LeBron and considers it an honor to be his teammate.”
It’s very clear that the ongoing issues between James and the Lakers have nothing to do with his relationship to Doncic, even if the latter if the reason for L.A. slowly ousting the former. LeBron and Luka have had mutual respect for one another dating back years.
And it’s also clear they enjoy playing together, as the collective IQ between the two is potentially higher than any two teammates in the history of the NBA. It’s simply unfortunate that the timing of them teaming up together does not allow for the ideal working relationship. Had James been even 35 when the pairing met up, L.A. could have easily prioritized both timelines at once.
However, at 40 and entering his age-41 season, the Lakers can no longer afford to sell off significant hauls of future assets to make one-year runs.
Warriors considered making trade offer for LeBron James
LeBron James’ future with the Lakers is now one of the biggest questions hanging over the franchise going into the 2025-26 season. Even in prior years, there were rumors floating around about a potential LeBron trade with the Golden State Warriors inquiring about a possible deal, though nothing came of it.
Now, the idea of James in another uniform has come up once again this offseason, mainly following the statement made by his agent Rich Paul after he picked up his player option for the 2026 season. Paul’s statement on LeBron wanting to win now and evaluating the Lakers’ offseason moves seemed to open the door at a possibility of him wanting to move on, and interested teams took notice.
Once again, one of those teams was the Warriors, who reportedly internally considered making a trade offer to the Lakers for James.
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