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LeBron James says he spent two days in disbelief after the Los Angeles Lakers traded away Anthony Davis, his close friend and teammate.
The top scorer in NBA history is finally coming to grips with the idea of forming a new partnership with Luka Dončić, who also holds a special place in James’s esteem.
“Luka has been my favorite player in the NBA for a while now,” James said on Tuesday night after scoring 26 points in the Lakers’ blowout win over the Clippers. “I’ve always just tried to play the game the right way and inspire the next generation, and Luka happens to be one of them, and now we’re teammates. So it’ll be a very seamless transition.”
Like the rest of the world, James initially assumed the Lakers’ trade with the Dallas Mavericks for Dončić – Davis was sent the other way – was a joke when he learned about it last Saturday night while at dinner with his family in New York.
“My emotions were all over the place,” James said. “The first time I heard it, I thought it was for sure fake. I thought it was a hoax. 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. That’s when it finally hit me, like, ‘This is real.’”
Midway through his record-tying 22nd NBA season, the 40-year-old James has often said in recent years that he’s seen everything it’s possible to experience in the NBA. This trade changed his mind.
“Ain’t never seen this,” James said. “I haven’t. I’ve seen it all, up until this one. I’ve never been a part of a transaction like that. That was different ... It was shocking when I heard the news, but at the end of the day, I understand the business of basketball.”
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, and James said he’s determined to persevere in Los Angeles even after Davis’ departure.
When asked if he was worried about the Lakers’ focus shifting to Dončić and younger players, James asked: “What’s wrong with that?”
“If I had concerns, I’d have waived my no-trade clause and got up out of here,” he added. “Listen, I’m here right now. I’m committed to the Lakers organization. I’m here to help Luka and Maxi [Kleber] make the transition as smoothly as possible.”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue is well-positioned to understand how Dončić’s may fit in with the Lakers. Lue was James’ coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who won a championship with James playing alongside ballhawk guard Kyrie Irving. Lue smirked on Tuesday night when asked how he would respond to pundits and ex-players like Charles Barkley and Paul Pierce who think James and Dončić won’t work well together because they’re both ball-dominant players.
“They’re not right,” Lue said. “It’ll work. When you have LeBron James, who’s been the best player in the league for the last 15 years, and you have Luka – who’s a top-three, top-five player in the league – they’ll figure out how to make it work. LeBron can play with anybody. ... I know [Lakers coach JJ Redick] will do a good job of stacking those guys so they each have their own unit, kind of like we did with Kyrie and LeBron, and then in the fourth quarter they’ll close games together. They’ll figure it out. It’s not a tough problem to have, I’ll tell you that.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday night, Irving said he was still in shock that Dončić is no longer his teammate in Dallas.
“Just really shocked,” Irving said after the Mavericks’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. “You just don’t imagine you’re going to get ready to go to sleep and then you find out news like that. It’s still a grieving process right now. I miss my hermano.”
