There's a ton of moving pieces to the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis deal but one interesting bit of fallout from the blockbuster trade is the proliferation of people willing to say that adding Doncic will not make the Los Angeles Lakers better.
Doncic is, at the very worst, the fourth-best player in the NBA with the capacity to be the very best on any given night. And sure, the Lakers will have some defensive liabilities to clean up in the form of acquiring a rim protector that somewhat resembles Davis, there is only one basketball to share and any other legitimate reason for concern is not to be outright dismissed.
Still, it feels like that narrative has gone slightly too far. Thankfully, Kendrick Perkins was in place on Tuesday's First Take to shoot it down.
"You know what pisses me off," Perkins said. "People that constantly say that LeBron James can't play off the ball. Newsflash: LeBron James actually wants to play off the ball. Matter of fact, he's been better playing off the ball. He just has to play the point guard on this team. Now you bring in Luka who's going to be the primary ballhandler, we're going to see LeBron James as a different player. He's going to be more of a screener. He's going to be more of a slasher. He's shooting the three at a high clip this season."
.@KendrickPerkins is "pissed off" at the idea that LeBron James and Luka Doncic can't play together 👀
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 4, 2025
"Imagine what [Luka's] going to do to the rest of the league once he gets under LeBron James' wing." 😳 pic.twitter.com/3ABrGwuBH5
Perkins, who sees the Lakers as a top-four team in the Western Conference now, also alluded to the impact that James could potentially have on Doncic.
"Imagine what [Luka's] going to do to the rest of the league once he gets under LeBron James's wing," he said.
Doncic has a reputation as a ball-stopper. James is 40 and has never been the second option on a team. There's a chance this doesn't all work out wonderfully. But to bet on that is to bet against two all-time greats who desperately needed a jolt of revitalization and now have it.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kendrick Perkins Crushes Idea That Luka Doncic and LeBron James Can't Play Together.
