One of the more discussed details of the Los Angeles Lakers’ move to trade for star guard Luka Doncic in light of the deal going down in February was that Lakers star forward LeBron James was apparently not consulted by the team before the deal was made.
Lakers insider Jovan Buha reported months ago that there was even “initial fear” that James might ask out of Los Angeles following the lack of communication.
But according to a recent report, James forgave the Lakers for the “transgression” and understood the team’s rationale for keeping its plans a secret.
“They did not give him significant notice that they were trading [Anthony] Davis for Doncic — a transgression James forgave, sources said, because of his respect for Doncic and understanding of the franchise’s reasoning for making the trade and keeping it under wraps for as long as possible,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst wrote.
Davis was the big piece the Lakers gave up in the deal for Doncic, and he was arguably L.A.’s best player last season before he got moved for the Slovenian.
He’s an elite NBA big man if at full strength, but that’s a major “if” in the sense that the injury bug has plagued him for almost his whole career. Davis has played 70-plus games in just three of his 13 seasons in the league so far and was limited to 51 appearances in the 2024-25 campaign.
Not only does Doncic stand out as the better player to build a future around considering his age and superior availability, but he may also be a more effective player in the here and now. He’s considered by many to be a top-five player in the NBA currently, and he’s fresh off averaging 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game with the Lakers and Dallas Mavericks last season.
All in all, even though James seemingly wasn’t given significant notice on the Lakers’ decision to make the blockbuster move in February, it makes sense that he was able to get over it.
Still, there appears to be tension right now between James and the Lakers organization, something that has dominated headlines lately.
If James stays with Los Angeles, maybe he and Doncic will be able to lead the Lakers deep into the playoffs in their second season together. In the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Los Angeles got eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the opening round despite being the No. 3 seed in the West.