Lakers' LeBron James decision to have an impact on former Mavericks star Luka Doncic

Former Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is with the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that has some question marks moving forward. 

Frankly, if Doncic were on the Mavericks, he'd likely be in a better position career-wise. Ultimately, it wasn't his decision, and he's made that known plenty of times over the past few months. 

As the Mavericks could be interested in landing LeBron James if he's bought out, it could have an impact on the former Mavericks star.

When examining the situation, the Dallas Morning News recently had some interesting thoughts. 

They noted that there isn't any incentive for the Lakers to waive and stretch James, but if they do, they added that there could also be some burdens thrown on Doncic, considering he needs an extra playmaker on his side. 

“Another scenario could be through a buyout agreement, similarly to how the Milwaukee Bucks stretched and waived the contract of Damian Lillard, which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. In that case, the Mavericks and 29 other teams could throw their names into the hat for a possible James sweepstakes.

“However, there isn’t an incentive for the Lakers to do that since it would be nearly impossible to replace James’ production. That would also place a troublesome burden on former Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, who needs an additional playmaker alongside him,” they wrote.

If the Lakers move on from James, there will likely be teams interested. However, the only way it really makes sense for a team like the Mavericks and a few other contenders to add him is via the buyout market, if it ever happens. 

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Sure, one could argue that trading assets for him still makes sense, but James is going to be 41 years old in December.

The Mavericks have to be careful if that’s their decision.