Lakers Held Private Meeting With Luka Doncic and Without LeBron James

The Los Angeles Lakers traded for Luka Doncic right before the trade deadline. They made that trade because they saw that he could be the future of the franchise.

LeBron James is the present, but the future is coming closer than James would like it to. He is one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball, but he might only have a couple of years left.

Because he is in that stage of his career, the Lakers have shifted more of a focus towards Doncic when it comes to team-building.

That includes a recent meeting the Lakers had. According to an article by ESPN, the Lakers recently held a meeting with just Doncic in attendance without James.

In that meeting, the Lakers' leadership explained to Doncic how they are going to navigate the future of the franchise, with Doncic as its face. They wanted to show him how they are going to build the team around him.

Not having James as part of this meeting is notable, but not surprising. James shouldn't be trying to make plans for the future of the franchise anymore at his age.

James is 40 years old and has just a couple of years left, even if he is still one of the 15 best players in the league. Doncic has to know that the team will be his once James retires.

This transition from the James era to the Doncic era is clearly happening faster than James would like, based on the statement that Rich Paul released.

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The Lakers still believe that they can compete for a title with James on the roster. He still gives them a chance to win, although the rest of the roster needs to be right around James and Doncic.

Los Angeles understands that the future will get here sooner than they think, and they need to have a plan for Doncic's usage for the next few years.

Once he was traded to the Lakers, Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. He shot 43.8 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three.

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