The NBA world is still reeling from the blockbuster deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Mavs. Neither player has debuted yet for their new team, but that hasn’t stopped basketball fans and insiders from speculating on how this seismic move will shake up the playoff race, both now and in future years. Dwyane Wade, LeBron James’ friend and former teammate, said on the most recent episode of The Why podcast that even after adding Luka, he doesn’t believe that the Lakers are contenders this year.
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Wade had a simple answer when he was asked if he believes the Lakers are a championship team. “Right now?” he asked. “No.” He didn’t get the chance to elaborate on his reasoning, which could range anywhere from the top teams in the West still being too good to the Lakers having a serious hole at center now that Davis is gone.
The conversation pivoted to LeBron and what this move means for him, and Wade was blunt in his assessment.
“This ain’t about LeBron.”
On the one hand, he’s wrong because the Lakers will absolutely need LeBron to mesh with Luka if they hope to find immediate success, but on the other, he’s right because LeBron probably only has one or two more years left in him before retiring. Trading for Luka, who is about to turn 26, turns the page on this era of the Lakers and sets the franchise up for the next, post-LeBron decade.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst agrees, and he said as much on a recent appearance on Get Up.
LeBron James is still a Laker, but the team has begun to prepare for a future without him
As one of the greatest players in NBA history, LeBron has had an enormous influence on what kinds of moves his teams make. Think about how the Cavs traded Andrew Wiggins in a win-now move to acquire Kevin Love when LeBron returned in 2014 as one example. With Luka now in L.A., the days of LeBron running the show appear to be over. Windhorst explained that for the first time in his life, LeBron is not the top player on his team.
“Every year of LeBron’s career, 21+ seasons, everything that the teams have done when he’s on it has been about him. That is no longer the case. Everything the Lakers will do going forward will be about No. 77. They are now Luka Doncic’s team.”
LeBron has previously called Anthony Davis the best player on the team, and he’s been very complimentary of Luka’s game from afar over the years. He’s clearly feeling his own basketball mortality, such as when he told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after dropping a 33-point triple-double on the Knicks on Saturday, “I have no idea how I’m still doing this, Lisa.”
Based on that, it seems that LeBron is OK with no longer being the top dog on his own team. We won’t have long to find out how he and Luka get along on the court, as the new Laker is expected to make his team debut before the All-Star Break, which begins on February 14th.
