Lakers Told Luka Doncic About Mark Walter Sale Beforehand, Didn’t Tell LeBron James

When the Buss family agreed to sell a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter on June 18 for $10 billion, Luka Doncic was given a heads-up. However, LeBron James, the leading scorer in NBA history, was not given the same notice.

This is just one of the signs that the Lakers are moving on from James and building around Doncic, according to NBA insiders Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN. 

“Since the Doncic trade on Feb. 1, the Lakers have signaled this shift from James to Doncic through a series of microaggressions,” Shelburne and Windhorst wrote. “They did not give him significant notice that they were trading Anthony Davis for Doncic — a transgression James forgave, sources said, because of his respect for Doncic and understanding of the franchise’s reasoning for making the trade and keeping it under wraps for as long as possible.

“Within days of acquiring Doncic, Rob Pelinka attempted to pair him with Mark Williams, an athletic young center. Davis and James had for years been asking the franchise to acquire a true center, without avail. When the Buss family agreed to sell a majority stake in the franchise to Mark Walter on June 18, Doncic was given a heads-up and notably posted a congratulations on social media afterward. James was not given the same notice and did not post any public acknowledgement afterward.

“Then of course, the coup de grâce: The Lakers, by not offering James an extension, indicated they were comfortable having him on the roster as an expiring contract, a rare position for a superstar player of his caliber.”

James, 40, picked up his 2025-26 player option with the Lakers. However, the franchise hasn’t announced that move yet and James’ agent (Rich Paul of Klutch Sports) delivered a very cryptic statement to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN after his client opted in. 

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games. James made the All-NBA Second Team last season, proving that he’s still one of the best players in the league despite being the oldest guy in the league. 

James has a no-trade clause in his contract. If he wants to leave the Lakers, he can request a trade and Los Angeles has to trade the forward. 

One of the best players in NBA history, James signed with the Lakers in 2018. He won his fourth championship and fourth Finals MVP with the franchise in 2020.