LeBron's Camp Reportedly Had An Issue With The Lakers Immediately Catering To Luka Doncic By Finally Trying To Trade For A Center

Kevork Djansezian. Getty Images.

With all eyes on Luka's debut against the Jazz, overall I'd say it wasn't anything crazy. Part of me expected Luka to come out guns blazing and fueled by spite and put up a typical vintage Luka line of 30/13/13 with some dagger stepbacks or something along those lines. The combination of being at home, debuting with your new team, being pissed at your old team in addition to playing the dogshit Jazz had me thinking we were in for something truly special. 

In reality, it was fine. We got glimpses of what is going to make this team more dynamic and a real bitch to guard at times, but Luka didn't quite look to have his normal conditioning down after being out since Christmas with his calf injury and it was more of a modest showing than anything else

One would think that at a time like this, after bringing in a generational talent who hasn't even reached his NBA prime years yet, there could be no potential drama within the Lakers organization. Everyone should be over the moon happy right?

Well, according to reports coming out of LA, that's not exactly the case and it starts with a familiar face

"What is clear is that Doncic will have a say. And it wasn't lost on James' camp, sources said, that Pelinka prioritized Doncic's involvement upon his arrival and immediately engaged in the Williams trade that he'd asked for, when James had for years wanted the team to trade its picks to improve its roster."

OK, for starters, my spidey senses are up a little bit because Dave McMenamin can be a bit of a shit-stirrer. On one hand, this is classic LeBron. Even now, after ALL THIS, he still finds a way to make it about himself and how he's somehow been wronged or disrespected by the Lakers.

Dude, the team just traded for LUKA DONCIC to get you help and improve its roster. Meanwhile, as a team, the Lakers operate without any idea of how long LeBron is going to stick around before he retires. That matters! It's also not as if LeBron has the best GM decision-making skills when it comes to what the Lakers should be doing. We all remember the Russell Westbrook era. 

On the other hand, this is absolutely true in the sense that 5 seconds after trading for Luka, the Lakers went out and found him a rim running center. You know, the exact archetype of a player that he thrived next to as a Mav, whether that was Derek Lively or Daniel Gafford. Adding that type of player to the Lakers roster makes sense…NOW THAT YOU HAVE LUKA. Without trading for Luka, giving up your unprotected 1sts for Mark Williams makes no sense since you didn't have a LeBron replacement on the team and you might need that asset down the line. 

Sure the league ultimately reversed the trade, but the initial intention definitely happened. This is notable of course because both AD and LeBron had been asking Pelinka to give up those future picks for a center, and he never did. 

My question, is why would LeBron or LeBron's camp have an issue with that? Luka, in theory, is going to be on the Lakers for the next 10+ years. LeBron is 40 with an unknown future. No shit they are now going to be making decisions with Luka in mind! It's still not a lock that he even signs his extension! Plus he's about 15 years younger! That all seems pretty normal behavior to me. 

Somehow, it seems like all of that context gets lost. Again, LeBron asked the Lakers for help at the deadline and they brought in Luka friggin Doncic. I'm not sure it gets more impactful than that in terms of a trade deadline deal, and it's something that will obviously make LeBron's life 100000x easier. 

It'd be one thing if they were ignoring LeBron's request to instead do things to appease say, Austin Reaves. That would be insane. But when you make that type of investment in Luka and you have that opportunity to add a player that he thrives next to that matches his age timeline, I feel like that's the most normal GM move of all time. Every single team in the league does that, it doesn't make it a slight against LeBron just because he also wanted a center once upon a time.

I am not someone who believes these two can't play together and the Lakers are doomed because of this pairing. That's doing too much if you have that stance. But I will say it's interesting that LeBron has never, ever, been on a team where it made sense for the organization to prioritize the wants of a different player over LeBron. We have no idea how he reacts to that, and maybe at this point of his career it won't be an issue, but I think we could all see a world where if it doesn't work and LeBron feels like this is no longer his team, he'll dip.

To me, that's what makes this experiment so fascinating. For 20+ years, LeBron has been calling the shots. But now? He looks across the locker room and sees Luka doing this

Good luck!