[McMenamin] “There was no personal rift between LeBron James and Doncic, multiple team sources told ESPN. There was more of a disconnect between James and the organization, sources said, one that started during the doomed 21-22 season following the Russell Westbrook trade and never fully recovered.”
After James informed the Lakers of his decision, a source familiar with the 41-year-old’s thinking told ESPN that James felt “it was time to move on.”
While James had a chance to decompress in the six weeks since the Lakers were swept out of the playoffs in the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, James came to the conclusion that he wanted to extend his career playing “meaningful, competitive basketball,” according to the source, and welcomed a change.
There was no personal rift between James and Doncic, multiple team sources told ESPN.
While they worked through growing pains on the court as two ball-dominant players, they got along and respected one another off of it.
There was more of a disconnect between James and the organization, sources said, one that started during the doomed 2021-22 season following the Russell Westbrooktrade and never fully recovered.
Ultimately, James recognized the Lakers were in a different phase with their franchise and chose to prioritize his basketball happiness, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, in finding his next situation – which will be the last stop of his Hall of Fame career.