When Luka Doncic was traded from the Dallas Mavericks, it marked the end of a strong on-court partnership with Kyrie Irving—but not their personal bond. “We’ve texted back and forth,” Kyrie said after the trade sent Luka to the Lakers. “We’re loyal to each other’s families now.” That connection was on full display this week during Kyrie’s 24-hour Twitch stream to celebrate his new three-year deal with Dallas—when Luka called mid-stream.
The exchange was a perfect glimpse into their friendship. “Okay. What do you want? What do you want?” Kyrie asked, laughing. From the other end, you could hear Luka’s playful jab: “Streamer. Streamer.” After Kyrie joked about putting him on camera, Luka, who was up at 4 a.m. his time, promised to support the stream. “Hey, I will donate now,” he said. “200, for real.” Kyrie, laughing, held him to it. “200 subs? All right, we gonna see. I’m gonna hold you to it.”
It’s the kind of easy, genuine chemistry that fans love to see, and it’s consistent with their public interactions. Just a few days prior, after Kyrie posted photos from a yacht vacation, Luka slid into the comments with a sarcastic, “Thanks for the invite on the yacht.” It’s clear that even though they’re on different teams now, their friendship remains as tight as ever.
While Kyrie and Luka’s bond appears stronger than ever, Luka’s current teammate, LeBron James, is dealing with a much different situation in Los Angeles. The arrival of Luka Doncic has fundamentally shifted the Lakers’ priorities, and according to recent reports, it’s creating a noticeable tension between LeBron and the front office.
The core of the issue, as detailed by NBA insider Shams Charania, is a conflict of timelines. “LeBron James… he’s at the point of his career, 40 years old, gonna be 41. He wants to play for a championship next season,” Charania explained on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “His agent, Rich Paul, told me that very directly. He wants a realistic chance to compete for a championship… And he feels clearly that the Lakers are more in a futuristic mindset.“
That “futuristic mindset” is all about building around Luka, the new face of the franchise. The trade that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas for Doncic was the first clear signal. “The moment that that trade was made… it was like, all right, AD’s joining a win-now team in Dallas. Luka Dončić faces the franchise for the next 8 to 10 years. That was really the vision,” Charania said.
The Lakers’ offseason moves have only reinforced that vision. They signed Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia—solid young players who fit Luka’s timeline, but they haven’t made the kind of splashy, win-now move that would satisfy a player like LeBron. As Charania put it, “they’re still trying to figure out how do we compete and contend for a championship,” while LeBron is looking for a sure thing.
This has led to a tense standoff. LeBron picked up his $52.6 million player option, but that doesn’t guarantee he’ll be in a Lakers uniform when the season starts. “Where does that go? If one side feels like, listen, I want to compete for a championship, the other side is just trying to, you know, compete for the future,” Charania mused. “I think that that situation will play out over the next two months. Like, I really think there will be some hard conversations eventually that that’ll need to happen there.” For LeBron this must be a tough pill to swallow.
The Lakers are even making exceptions for Luka Dončić’s EuroBasket run—and they’re not doing it in a small way. While most teams usually prefer their star players to rest during the offseason, L.A. is doing the exact opposite: they’re really leaning into it. In a pretty rare move, the team has agreed to send their new assistant coach, Greg St. Jean, overseas to join the Slovenian national team this summer.
St. Jean, who actually worked with Luka back when he was in Dallas, isn’t just a trusted face—he’s someone Dončić feels comfortable with. This means his being there with the Slovenian team is more than just symbolic; it’s a smart move. According to the Slovenian Basketball Federation, St. Jean is officially part of the staff getting ready for EuroBasket 2025. It’s not his first time around the program either—he was involved during preparations for EuroBasket 2022. This summer, though, things feel more official, more directly tied to his current job with the Lakers.
And for Luka, Slovenia isn’t just some side project. It’s home. It’s his heritage. “I like to represent my country. But you see, my country lives for sports,” he said on the Mind the Game podcast. “For how small we are, I think we have great sports people.” That strong feeling of national identity is what drives him every single summer. “[The passion from the fans] is why I play every year,” Luka added. For the Lakers, supporting that purpose doesn’t just build trust—it could create something much, much stronger.
Even beyond St. Jean, more familiar faces are popping up. Donnie Nelson—the former Mavs executive who made the trade happen to bring Luka to Dallas in the first place—is now a special advisor to the Slovenian national team. That means Luka goes into this summer’s EuroBasket surrounded by a ton of support: from old mentors, new coaches, and a team that’s finally seeing his roots not as a risk, but as a real strength.
And that really matters, because this isn’t just a warm-up. Luka has officially taken the next step by being named to Slovenia’s preliminary 19-man roster. He’s already trimmed down and ramped up his training. The Lakers know it. Slovenia knows it. And if this partnership keeps going strong, both might just get to see the best version of Luka Dončić yet.
