LeBron James wants to ‘do right’ by Lakers, help mentor Luka Doncic

In the aftermath of the Luka Doncic trade, LeBron James sounds ready to be a mentor and welcome in a superstar of the next generation.

There’s been so much to digest about the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade that, in some senses, LeBron James has floated into the background.

It’s not to say there haven’t stories on him. But they’ve been more about him learning barely before the rest of the world about the deal and that he wasn’t going to thusly seek a trade away from the Lakers. Outside of that, his reaction to the deal has sort of flown under the radar.

Fortunately, and predictably, for Lakers fans, he sounds more than ready for the next iteration of this team. As someone who has long expressed his appreciation and admiration for Luka Dončić’s game, it’s not surprising that he would be on board for playing alongside him now.

On Monday, Brian Windhorst appeared on NBA Today to discuss LeBron and his role moving forward.

“Well, let’s look at his actions. Dave McMenamin reported that he does not intend to seek a trade. He is going to stay with the team. That’s important. That signals that he’s on board. The second thing is, LeBron wants to leave the Lakers in a good place. He has a good relationship with the Laker organization…They’ve done right by him and he wants to do right by them. So, if he can do some things over the next season, two seasons to help Luka get into position, if he can hopefully help him on the court, I think he wants to do that. I think if he leaves the Lakers and hands it over to Luka for the next era, I think that is part of being a great Laker and he wants to be a great Laker.”

To be clear, this isn’t any sort of reporting from Windy. However, few people have been more locked into LeBron and Klutch Sports throughout the years than Windhorst, so even if it is speculation, it’s informed speculation.

This also goes in line with reporting from Sam Amick, Joe Vardon and Fred Katz of The Athletic on Monday, who shared some sourced insight into LeBron’s reaction.

That’s why James was not upset by the trade, a league source said. He was shocked when he was informed of the trade by his agent Rich Paul, who also represents Davis, while at dinner with his family in New York after recording a triple-double in a win over the Knicks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. James’ chief concern, according to the same league source, was Davis’ emotions following the trade. Otherwise, James viewed it as a “business decision” the Lakers needed to make, and not just because he wanted roster changes. The future will soon be here in which James is no longer involved.

First, that LeBron was mainly concerned about AD is going to tug at the heartstrings a little bit more. But LeBron’s been around long enough to know the business side of basketball. None of this is new to him.

LeBron was open to handing the keys to the franchise over to AD. And with all due respect to Davis, Luka is some levels better than AD and is also younger.

Still, this is all going to be pretty new for LeBron. This will now be a team where he is not the primary focus or option. It certainly sets up for a very fascinating conclusion to LeBron’s career.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.