The NBA world was turned upside down last season by a midseason trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the rare trade of a star in his prime, and happy with his situation in Doncic.
While the Lakers improved after Doncic’s arrival, it appears that not everyone was happy with how the organization handled things, including Lakers superstar LeBron James.
“LeBron James reportedly felt the Lakers didn’t fully value everything he had done while shifting focus to Luka Dončić, per (Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst)
“’James understood the Lakers taking advantage of an opportunity to pivot to the younger superstar. But from James’ perspective, sources said, nuance was sometimes lost during the transition. Doncic had never asked to be a Laker. James, for his part, had chosen L.A., coming in 2018 when the team had missed the playoffs five consecutive seasons, the worst run for the franchise since it moved from Minneapolis. Two years later, James had helped deliver a 17th championship,'” reported NBA Central on Friday.
Fasn reacted to the report on social media.
“No way he’s throwing a tantrum because they’re focusing on their younger top 5 player in the world,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“They literally did whatever he wanted for 7 years and he’s claiming he wasn’t appreciated enough?” one fan wnaneted to know.
“Disgusting how the Lakers have been handling all fo this. That franchise and fans are lucky they finally ever got to see a championship thanks to LeBron,” someone else added.
It’ll be interesting to see if James tries to force his way out of Los Angeles.