LeBron James shuts down LA Lakers departure rumors amid Luka Doncic's arrival

LeBron James has been the leader for the Los Angeles Lakers for the past seven years. During his stint in LA, the 4x NBA MVP has helped the team win the NBA Championship once, by forming a dynamic duo with Anthony Davis.

Since then, the Lakers have only shown a few signs of glory, but they have hardly made a dent come playoff time in the loaded West.

This season, the Lakers are playing extremely well and seem to fondly accept the tactics of rookie head coach JJ Redick. Considering the Lakers have remained the fifth seed in the Western Conference for the majority of the season, many still doubt their chances of making a deep postseason run.

Those rumors have been put to bed following the blockbuster trade to welcome Luka Doncic to the city of angels. A new rumor has taken its place, which is that James may demand a trade as the Lakers are seemingly gearing up to make Doncic the next face of the franchise.

James squashed those rumors during the postgame conference after the LA Lakers' dominant 122-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

"What's wrong with that?" James said. "If I had any concerns I would have waived my no-trade clause and got up out of here. I'm here right now, I'm committed to the Lakers organization," James said. "I'm here to help Luka and Maxi make the transition as smooth as possible. [Markieff Morris] has been here before, so he already knows what we're about, we won a championship with him in 2020, so I ain't worried about him. As a leader of the team, as one of the captains of the team, it's my job to make it as seamless as possible."

LeBron James, when asked about the Lakers making the Luka Doncic trade with an eye on the future, replied, “What’s wrong with that? If I had any concerns I would have waived my no trade clause and got up out of here” pic.twitter.com/iMPxgOph83
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 5, 2025

James is in the twilight years of his NBA career and it seems like the 40-year-old has come far from getting rattled after seeing his name in a couple of rumors here and there.

The Lakers organization must be jubilant after hearing James' stance on Doncic's arrival and how he plans to become a mentor for the 25-year-old superstar rather than become an obstacle in handing the keys of the franchise to him.