LeBron James' Luka Doncic problem is one Mavericks never had if new rumors are true

Throughout his legendary NBA career, LeBron James has played alongside countless superstar players, including Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis. However, James' biggest named teammate ever joined forces with him this past February in a trade thanks to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade that shocked the entire NBA world. The trade would help the Mavericks acquire Davis and Max Christie from the Lakers. When the Mavericks traded Doncic, expectations with James grew immensely to win a championship in Los Angeles.

Then, the Lakers were upset in the first round of the 2025 playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves this past April. Now in July, tensions are building between James and the Lakers with new rumors, and it's an issue the Mavericks never had when Doncic played in Dallas.

Luka Doncic's situation in Los Angeles may turn bad quickly

James' future in Los Angeles is uncertain, as he opted into his player option and has dropped some cryptic comments through his agent, Rich Paul, recently, and Doncic may have something to do with it. Rumors are that James didn't like playing with Doncic in Los Angeles, according to John Gambadoro. That might sound shocking because many players would embrace playing with Doncic, and James has always spoken highly of Doncic in the past. There was one player above all else who loved playing with Doncic during their time together in Dallas.

That player is Kyrie Irving.

When Irving played with Doncic before being traded, the two had an incredible bond on and off the court. Irving spoke highly of Doncic when he was on the team, with the biggest moment coming after the Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the 2024 playoffs.

Irving mentioned how he wanted to be a "brother" by Doncic's side after the Mavericks won the second-round series, and Doncic mentioned how supportive Irving was to him the whole time. Today, James doesn't seem to be happy having a player like Doncic by his side if the newest rumors prove to be true.

In just one season, James didn't have better success with Doncic by his side in the playoffs than Irving did. The Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals with Irving and Doncic; meanwhile, the Lakers won just one playoff game with James and Doncic together.

More rumors began today with James and Doncic with Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne's in-depth report about James and his situation with the Lakers.

When the Buss family sold a majority stake of the team to Mark Welter on June 18, Doncic was informed, but James wasn't. With James being on the Lakers since 2018, that might come as a major shock.

Doncic in Los Angeles may have created a situation that James doesn't want to be a part of anymore. It seems that the Lakers want to build for the future with Doncic on the team over James, who will turn 41 years old in December. Meanwhile, getting Davis in the trade may help the Mavericks in the long run, now with drafting Cooper Flagg first overall in this year's draft.

Davis can help mentor Flagg and work with him on his game. Davis' experience at 32 years old is pivotal to help out an 18-year-old wing.

The developments in Los Angeles involving James are puzzling to say the least, and it's even stranger that all of this is happening right after Doncic arrived. Doncic having to deal with his new teammate not wanting to play with him is a problem that he would have never dealt with in Dallas, as his co-star, Irving, helped him grow on and off the floor.

Doncic and Irving would have grown together for years to come if Dallas hadn't traded him, and Doncic would have been in a much better spot to win a title compared to the uncertain situation that is going on with the Lakers.