Could LeBron Team Up With Luka, Mavs? ESPN Insider Says It’s Possible
The Los Angeles Lakers have already been eliminated from playoff contention by not qualifying for the play-in tournament. Now, the focus has shifted to what's next for LeBron James and the potential changes the Lakers could make. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks have generated buzz for their strong play heading into the postseason.
James recently commented on HBO's "The Shop" about how the one superstar he'd love to play with is Stephen Curry. The logistics of James teaming up with Curry are not clean after Curry's $215 million contract extension.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
During an appearance on ESPN's "Get Up" on Thursday, Brian Windhorst wasn't reporting but offered his insight into which player to keep an eye on for James to team up with in the future potentially. Spoiler alert: It wasn't Curry.
Windhorst says to not count out the idea of James teaming up with Luka Doncic due to the expressed respect for the Slovenian superstar.
"(LeBron) talked about how much he admires Luka Doncic. And that is something you should put in your back pocket,” said Windhorst. “Don't ever judge LeBron 100 percent on his words. Judge him on his actions.
"The best way you can see how LeBron feels about people is who he drafts in his All-Star draft. ... He's drafted Luka Doncic all three years he's been an All-Star."
The passing ability of a Doncic-LeBron duo would be remarkable, given they each have given defenses nightmares for their half-court orchestration and ability to convert difficult passes. Both are tough shot makers and are a load to handle when they attack the rim.
Andrew D. Bernstein | Credit: NBAE via Getty Images
With James being in the latter stage of his career, he could become more of a screener and orchestrate DHOs in the two-man game with Doncic. James could often face an out-of-rotation defense as a short-roll playmaker with how often teams blitz, show-and-recover, or just outright double Doncic.
The respect James has expressed for now Mavericks coach Jason Kidd is something that should not be understated either. The Lakers won a championship with Kidd as an assistant coach, and James has commonly advocated for Kidd as a coach.
While it remains to be seen what the future holds for James, there's been no shortage of recent possibilities put out in the NBA news cycle. Kevin Love recently explained how returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers could be a storybook ending to James' career. There's even been a suggestion of an LA Clippers trade.
It does appear as though James' decision-making will eventually be impacted by the prospective NBA career of his son, Bronny. LeBron commented at NBA All-Star Weekend that he'd do "whatever it takes" to play with Bronny.
