LeBron James intends to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers past the Feb. 6 trade deadline, according to Chris Haynes. James has a full no-trade clause in his contract and can veto any trade the Lakers present him with. Therefore, barring something unforeseen, he will remain with the Lakers through at least the end of this season.
Late Saturday night, the Lakers stunned the NBA world when they acquired Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic in a blockbuster deal that included Anthony Davis, James’ handpicked co-star in Los Angeles. James and Davis share an agent in Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul, and James was reportedly not informed of the deal ahead of time, finding out only while at dinner in New York City with his family.
The fit between James and Doncic, at least on paper, is a bit clunky. Aside from the fact that James, 40, is more than 14 years older than Doncic, 25, the two occupy similar roles as big ball-handlers that like to control everything their teams do on offense. Neither are strong defenders, even if James once was, and the Lakers now lack a rim-protecting center that could have helped them on that end of the floor.
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Last season at around this time, the Golden State Warriors approached the Lakers about a possible trade involving James. Ultimately, James elected not to get traded then. He didn’t have a no-trade clause at the time, but the Lakers asked him if he was interested in getting traded to the Warriors and he decided against pursuing the idea any further. He ultimately re-signed with the team last offseason and has a player option with the Lakers next season.
Had James been open to considering a trade this season, the Warriors would have been the logical destination given his longstanding relationships with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, as well as their shared desires to win now with three nearing the end of their Hall of Fame careers.
Instead, he will reportedly remain with the Lakers and try to figure out a partnership with Doncic. The two have overlapping skill sets and are known to have immense respect for one another. When James was attempting to launch a LeBron Brand at Nike similar to the Jordan Brand back in 2020, he had hoped that Doncic would be his first signee.
James and Doncic are two of the smartest players in NBA history. The Lakers have work to do on the rest of the roster, but there is little doubt that the two of them will be able to figure out a way to coexist in Los Angeles.
James has been the face of the Lakers since 2018. Now, he’ll play with the player he can pass the torch to as his career comes to a close.
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