LeBron James and Luka Doncic hoped to hit the jackpot after teaming up in early February.
The Los Angeles Lakers were guaranteed first-round exits in many individuals’ eyes before the blockbuster Anthony Davis-Doncic swap, but a championship appeared realistic once Doncic joined the fold.
Unfortunately, the 50-win Lakers couldn’t mask their frontcourt woes against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which led to a 4-1 first-round playoff loss to Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While the James and Doncic era in Los Angeles has just begun, a former Lakers guard and three-time NBA champion provided the organization with a horrifying championship prediction.
“No, I don’t think so (in response to a question about whether Doncic and James will win a title together),” Danny Green said on the All the Smoke podcast on Sunday. “I think they’re explosive offensively. I think they lack a lot defensively. As great as Bron is, I don’t know how many years he has left.”
“I think it’s really hard to win a championship when your best player is 40 years old. You can’t ask him to do it on both ends of the floor.”
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“Same with Luka. When they carry offensively, they used to not have to do as much defensively. The guy that can help clean or cover up their messes is gone… I think ultimately, Luka replaces Bron for when he’s done, and they build around Luka.”
To Green’s point, it’s challenging to ask an aging superstar to orchestrate a championship. James was unbelievable for the Lakers during his 22nd season in the big leagues.
The 40-year-old future Hall of Famer contributed 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game, connecting on 51.3% of his field goals and 37.6% of his three-pointers.
Still, James’ prime is behind him, and there aren’t many people who would argue against the fact that he isn’t as frightening as he was when he was at his best physically and athletically.
Doncic’s defensive limitations and conditioning will also lower the duo’s odds of hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy before James retires.
Teams have the luxury of picking on the former Dallas Mavericks star in one-on-one situations, which isn’t ideal considering he isn’t in tip-top shape, either.
Although Green’s assessment may ultimately prove to be incorrect, he expressed reasonable concerns regarding the two stars’ ability to achieve a remarkable feat.
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