“The End to LeBron James Making All the Decisions”: Charles Barkley Reflects on Anthony Davis’ Sudden Trade from the Lakers

NBA sources reported that LeBron James was out with his family for dinner when he learned about the Luka Doncic trade. Speaking about the trade on NBA GameTime, Charles Barkley said that the Lakers got what they were looking for, a young superstar to build around. However, the Anthony Davis trade marks the end of LeBron James making all the decisions in LA, according to Barkley.

He said, “I do think this kinda sets the end to like the LeBron James making all the decisions. They’re like, ‘Hey, we love you LeBron. But we’re gonna start what’s doing best for the Lakers.’”

That was Chuck’s biggest takeaway from the trade. The NBA legend didn’t rule out the possibility that LeBron knew about the trade because AD is also represented by Klutch Sports, a sports agency that was founded by LBJ’s close friend Rich Paul.

But Barkley surely didn’t think that James has the same say in these kinds of negotiations like he did before. From the Lakers’ POV, Barkley believes that they are now solely focused on their future.

He said that since LeBron is now “on his last legs”, locking in on the next superstar is the right move for a franchise that has thrived on superstar culture. However, he also declared that the trade will be considered a success or a failure based on which team manages to win a Championship after the trade.

Kevin Garnett called out LeBron James for lying

For more than a decade, LeBron has had the reputation of being a puppet master behind the scenes. Many notable people and fans believe that he is the one who influences a franchise’s decision. When the news about the AD-Luka trade first came out, fans wondered about LeBron’s involvement in the trade once again.

However, a source close to LeBron told ESPN that the superstar was out with his family for dinner when he was informed about the trade. He found out about it the same way everyone else did. While some believed in the story and moved on, Kevin Garnett wasn’t willing to hear a single word about it.

KG calls out LeBron James pic.twitter.com/17qi1jQlJH

— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) February 2, 2025

The NBA legend took to his Instagram and wrote, “Bron lyyyyyyyyyynnn. Of course he knew.. had to sign off on it.. simple!! NBA biz.”

It’s possible that LBJ had no idea what the front offices were working on because as per several reports, the deal was kept under wraps till the last minute.