It's tough to argue with Barkley about the Lakers situation.
The Dallas Mavericks have been one of the better teams in the NBA recently, but their decision to trade Luka Doncic last year will always be questionable.
Whether it be this year, in a few years, or 30 years from now, that trade will be talked about for a very long time.
However, for Doncic, all he can do is go out there and attempt to play the best possible basketball he can.
There's no debate that he’s one of the better five players in the NBA, at worst.
But his situation with LeBron James in the Lakers is a bit different from what it was with the Mavericks. While he had Kyrie Irving, everybody knew that Doncic was the star, including Irving, who said multiple times that this was Doncic’s team.
For James, however, he's used to being in the spotlight, and rightfully so, given he's arguably the greatest player to ever play the game.
Some believe that it’s Doncic’s team now, and the Lakers are acting accordingly, with some of their recent comments and reports indicating as such.
When recently speaking about the situation, NBA legend Charles Barkley said that it's his team now, not James’, and that the Lakers have many bigger issues to face.
"He’s on the downside of his career. It’s Luka’s team going forward."
"But, hey, they’ve got bigger problems than those guys," Barkley said, per Yahoo. "They’ve got to worry about the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets, and the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers are going to have a good team. But everything in the West starts with OKC, the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets."
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It remains uncertain if the Lakers' front office plans to put a competent team around the former Mavericks star during the remainder of the offseason.
Doncic is clearly good enough to win a championship, and that was evident by the 2024 season. However, they also have to be smart in this regard.
The Mavericks understand they have a star for the next decade if things go as planned, so emptying the asset pool for a below-average player or someone who won't get them over the hump instantly probably isn't the right decision.
Category: Basketball
