The Los Angeles Lakers’ core trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves finally had things click into place late last season and showed that they can lead their team to great success. But with Reaves and James both free agents this summer, it is unclear whether the trio will continue playing together as the front office must figure out the best way to move forward and make this roster a championship-level squad.
But the relationship that has been established between the three continues on even through the summer as Doncic has kept in contact with both Reaves and James, though the majority of their conversations have reportedly been about golf as opposed to trying to convince both to return to the Lakers, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
A source close to Doncic told ESPN that Doncic has kept in touch with James and Reaves since the season ended but hasn’t pitched either player on returning to L.A.
Most of their conversations, the source said, revolve around golf, as Doncic took up the sport in February and has bonded with his fellow links-obsessed teammates over it.
This in no way is some sort of sign that Doncic doesn’t want Reaves and James back with the Lakers, but rather just shows the closeness of the team’s stars. Doncic understands that there is already a ton of pressure on James and Reaves as free agency approaches and isn’t gonna add to it. He would rather focus on something outside of basketball that they all love, which at this point is golf.
Doncic doesn’t have to sell Reaves or James on what it means to return to the Lakers or that he wants them back in the purple and gold as they both know where he stands in regards to that. Doncic cares about winning a championship and he believes that all three of them together are capable of leading the Lakers to that level. Reaves and James likely feel the same so there is simply no reason to continue talking about the obvious.
Luka Doncic healthy and ‘full go’ for offseason training
Of course, Doncic’s season ended early due to injury as a Grade 2 left hamstring strain kept him out for the playoffs. But Doncic has been cleared for basketball activities and is now completely healthy and in full go mode as he begins his offseason training ahead of next season.
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