The Los Angeles Lakers were gifted Luka Doncic at the trade deadline and immediately the fit of him playing alongside LeBron James was questioned. Both are ball-dominant players and James is near the end of his career while Doncic should be entering his prime.
Things worked in the regular season, as Doncic helped the Lakers climb to the third seed in the Western Conference. However, they bowed out in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves in just five games.
San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green
Feb 7, 2018; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green (14) applauds his team in the second half against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-Imagn Images / Jennifer Stewart-Imagn Images
Former San Antonio Spurs champion Danny Green, who also won titles with the Toronto Raptors and Lakers, spoke on the duo on a recent episode of "All the Smoke" with another former Spurs champion, Stephen Jackson, and Matt Barnes.
"I don't think so," Green said on LeBron and Luka possibly winning a championship together. "I think they're explosive offensively. I think they lack a lot defensively. As great as 'Bron is, he always proves me wrong every year that he averages 30 somehow. I don't know how many years he has left longer, and I think it's just really hard to win a championship when your best player is 40 years old."
"He's really good, he's 40 years old, you can't ask him to do it on both ends of the floor," Green added. "Same with Luka, when you carry offensively, they're used to not have him doing as much defensively. The guy that can help clean and over up their messes is gone. It's hard to find another guy to replace that..."
"I think ultimately Luka replaces Bron for when he's done, so they can build around Luka. Long-term is good, I don't think they can win now."
The Lakers will be searching for a center this offseason that could help with their defensive issues. They were forced to play Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith at center down the stretch of the season, which didn't work against Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and the Wolves.
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