Luka Doncic‘s manager, Lara Beth Seager, revealed to NBA insider Ramona Shelburne of ESPN how Doncic really feels about playing with LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers.
Seager said Doncic “loves playing” with James, the leading scorer in NBA history.
“Luka loves playing with LeBron and has learned so much from him,” Seager said. “He has nothing but the utmost respect for LeBron and considers it an honor to be his teammate.”
The Lakers went 15-8 last season when Doncic and James were in the lineup. They finished the season as the third seed in the Western Conference but lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs in five games.
Doncic will make $45.9 million next season. He can sign an extension with the Lakers on August 2 for as much as four years and $229 million.
Doncic can also sign a two-year extension to get him to 10 years of service in the summer of 2028, when he could sign a five-year max deal at 35% of the salary cap to maximize his earnings.
Meanwhile, James will make $52.6 million next season in the final year of his contract. The Lakers didn’t offer the NBA icon, who is 40 years old and turns 41 in December, an extension because they want to save cap space to build around Doncic, who is only 26 years old.
A four-time MVP, James and the Lakers are not on the same page right now, which is why some people in the NBA believe the four-time Finals MVP could request a trade this offseason for the first time in his legendary career.
Doncic will be on the Lakers next season. We know that for certain.
However, it’s not a guarantee that James and Doncic will be teammates again next season.
“He feels clearly that the Lakers are more in a futuristic mindset,” NBA insider Shams Charania said on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “Where does that go? If one side feels like, listen, I wanna compete for a championship, the other side is just trying to compete for the future, but then that other side is like, well, we are trying to win a championship, like, where does that meet in the roads that we see?
“And I think that situation will play out over the next two months. I really think there will be some hard conversations eventually that will need to happen there.”
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