Nobody knows if LeBron James has been happy with the LA Lakers’ work they’ve done so far in the offseason. After picking up his player option, The King let it be known that he was closely analyzing the team’s decisions. And after a dry start to their offseason, some are beginning to wonder if he will force a trade. But Brian Scalabrine couldn’t care less about how LeBron feels, and thinks that he and Luka Doncic should be a force together if he stays.
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When Luka was traded to the Lakers in February, the team proceeded to take off. They finished the season 20-12, good for the third seed in the West. The team won 50 games for the first time since the 2019-20 season when they won the title. Additionally, he and LeBron just seemed to work together on offense for the most part.
That’s why Brian Scalabrine loves the duo, because they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. With Luka’s playmaking and LeBron’s shot-making, they pair up perfectly.
“Luka throws that ball up, and he gets those rebounds, throws it ahead, LeBron’s great in transition. That combination, to me, is nasty,” Scalabrine told SiriusXM NBA Radio.
It is indeed quite a good combination. It’s hard to miss when you pair up two of the Top 10 players in the league. But the Luka-LeBron combo specifically is lethal because they are both so smart on and off the ball.
“LeBron is the best.”@Scalabrine likes the LeBron-Luka combo and the Lakers’ newest additions, but he’s got one issue with this team. pic.twitter.com/pD60sVq0qr
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 7, 2025
So, despite the rumors of a possible trade, Scalabrine doesn’t care about how LeBron feels. He thinks he should be down to play with Luka. “I don’t care if LeBron’s not happy, I have no idea about any of that stuff. I just know from a basketball standpoint, those two guys work,” Scalabrine said.
It’s a hard argument to scoff at. The two are a great duo. But it does matter what LeBron thinks at the end of the day.
Reports say that Bron wants to compete for a title, and the Lakers haven’t been supplying him with chances as of late. Rich Paul even recently said that multiple teams are looking at him as an acquisition.
“LeBron knows the Lakers are building for the future, and he also wants to compete for championships. We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count,” Paul said.
So, it sounds like LeBron is close to pulling the plug on his Lakers tenure. It would be a bit disappointing since Luka just got there. But LA isn’t cutting it when it comes to team-building. They hit a home run by acquiring Doncic, yet faltered when it came to filling out the rest of the roster.
In the playoffs, it was the lack of a center that was glaring for the Lakers. In response, they signed DeAndre Ayton, who was recently bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers. Scalabrine liked the signing, but he still takes issue with their rim defense.
“It didn’t work because they couldn’t defend Rudy Gobert. So, now they can; they got DeAndre Ayton. My only issue with the Lakers is defensively at the rim.”
Ayton may be able to guard Gobert, but that’s not really saying much. What’s going to happen when he has to guard Nikola Jokic? Or Alperen Sengun? What about Chet Holmgren? All of those guys outclass Ayton and should get the better of him. Signing him as a defensive anchor is a bit of a pipe dream.
All in all, Scal may not care about LeBron’s feelings. But LeBron cares about LeBron’s feelings, and if he doesn’t feel as though the Lakers are supplying him with enough to win a title, he’s going to leave. It’s too late in his career to waste seasons; he wants another ring.
