Lakers' Luka Doncic demands major LeBron James role change from JJ Redick down stretch

The Los Angeles Lakers had quite the offseason trying to build around LeBron James and Luka Doncic. The biggest priority was getting everyone on the same page—but that wasn’t difficult. James wanted to compete for a contending team and made his intentions very clear.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Rich Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”

Doncic knows he is now the face of the franchise in the Lakers organization. However, he made it clear this past summer that he wants to win now.

“Dončić being just 26 gives the Lakers a far longer timeline to build a championship-contending team, but that doesn't mean they can slow down and take their time. Dončić told Lakers president Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick in May that he's not interested in taking the slow approach in building a contender,” CBS Sports’ Jasmyn Wimbish wrote.

The thing is, James and Doncic haven’t always played their best together this season. Doncic and Austin Reaves have often been more dominant while James has taken a backseat. On Thursday night, Doncic made it clear what the Lakers need to do for James.

“We gotta get him some more shots and keep getting him involved on offense,” Doncic told the media.

James has been very unselfish with his playstyle this season, trying to accommodate Doncic and Reaves. Now, it seems the offense is working on a way to get him more involved.

With some crucial games down the stretch, it will be interesting to see how the Lakers implement a more ball-dominant James. Perhaps the team is more comfortable together now than they have been all season.