James Throne is dismembered by Doncic! The Lakers admit that priority is crushing the gap, and the goal of winning the championship is invalid

No one would deny that LeBron James had a great influence on the decisions of the Los Angeles Lakers management, but the four-time NBA champion was a little caught off guard when the Lakers traded Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in February. According to ESPN reporters Ramona Sherburn and Brian Windhorst (Word) report, the Lakers simply did not seek James' opinions on the deal for Luca Doncic.

Although not notified, James seems to have forgiven the secret decision of the Lakers management because he understands the importance of trading a player of Doncic at the same level and why the Lakers management needs to keep it as confidential as possible, because once the deal is exposed, it may face resistance from multiple parties.

But since Doncic came to the Lakers for just half a season, he seems to have begun to have a greater impact on the decisions of the Lakers management than James. The Lakers have made it clear that they hope to build a team around the young Doncic and will not prioritize James' goal of winning the NBA championship this season. This idea has caused huge differences between the Lakers and James.

When the Lakers targeted former Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams on the mid-season trading deadline in February this year, Doncic's influence on Lakers' decision-making was fully exposed. It is reported that Doncic selected Ma Wei as the center he wanted to cooperate with. The Lakers then implemented this plan, offering the Hornets a bid including rookie guard Dalton Knecht, veteran forward Cam Reddish, an unprotected first-round draft pick in 2031 and a 2030 first-round draft pick exchange, and the Hornets accepted it.

Although Ma Wei failed the subsequent physical examination, the Lakers finally canceled the offer for the Hornets, this incident did show the importance of Doncic's opinion to the team. In contrast, the Lakers' opinions on Doncic are very different from those on James and Davis. The James and the Blues combination has been asking the Lakers to introduce a real center for many years, but the Lakers have never met the requirements of the two.

This does not mean that the Lakers no longer value James' opinions, but the Lakers' management is very realistic. They know that 26-year-old Doncic still has a long peak period and will become the top figure in the NBA in many years to come. 40-year-old James is indeed upset and may have entered the last season of his career. The so-called "Xiao Tiantian" at the time, but now he calls him Mrs. Niu".

Because the Lakers and James' goals in the 2025-26 season are not consistent, even players of James have become a potential trading choice for the Lakers. James is destined to be a legendary player in the NBA forever, but the Lakers are looking forward to their future with Doncic. For this group of profit-oriented businessmen, talking about relationships is indeed a loss of money.