Many expect LeBron James to be the Los Angeles Lakers’ main pitchman when Luka Doncic becomes extension-eligible starting August 2nd. As the face of the franchise, Purple & Gold fans anticipate Bron to be the one to persuade “Luka Magic” to stay in Los Angeles long-term.
However, the four-time NBA champion does not think that way. During a recent interview with ESPN, the “Kid from Akron” said that convincing Doncic to stay in L.A. is not his responsibility.
“No, that ain’t my job,” James said. “I think … I don’t think, I know, Luka knows how I feel about him. And ultimately, that trade happened for the future. That’s not for me. Luka has to decide what he has to do with his future. He’s 26 years old, I’m 40, so he can’t be basing his career off me. That’s just real.”
Bron wants Luka to choose what’s best for himself
When the Lakers traded for Doncic in February, it was considered a move for the future. By surrendering Anthony Davis in the deal, they essentially gave up any hopes of winning the championship this year and in the short term. Despite that, the “Lake Show” played well enough to earn the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs before the Minnesota Timberwolves exposed their flaws in the first round.
Despite their early exit, we saw LeBron and Luka display good rapport and court chemistry in the short time that they’ve played together. Doncic looked up to James as one of his idols, while Bron willingly ceded a lot of his basketball duties to his younger and more talented teammate to make their tandem work. But as far as the future is concerned, “The Kid from Akron” wants the Slovenian wunderkind to choose what he thinks is best for himself.
“But I hope, obviously, he stays long term,” added James. “Laker fans f***ing love him here. L.A. has accepted him. We love him as a teammate, as a brother. But ultimately, he’s got to make a decision for him. S***, I ain’t going to be around much longer.”
At the tail end of his NBA career
James’ days are certainly numbered. Although many expect him to earn an unprecedented All-NBA selection at the age of 40, no player in the league’s 78-year history has played beyond Year 22. He is most likely going to be the first one, but after that, who knows? There are even talks that his best fit moving forward isn’t in L.A., as Celtics Hall of Famer Paul Pierce recently suggested.
“If the Lakers want to get back to being a title contender, you have to get out of the constraints of the LeBron era…He’s had a grasp of the whole organization, bear-hugging them for so long now,'” said Pierce on FS1’s “Speak. “I think they should move on. It’s time for the Luka era now because I don’t know if you can play them together moving forward, because you have to have a certain type of team around Luka to win. And him with LeBron, you won’t be able to create that.”
With all the uncertainties, it’s understandable why LeBron does not want to influence Luka’s decision. James will surely no longer be there when Doncic completes his next contract. And if Pierce is correct, LBJ may not even be in L.A. next season.
