There has been much speculation about the impact of the trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks that included Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic. While many highlight the invaluable contribution the Slovenian guard has had in Los Angeles, one former NBA player claimed that AD’s departure benefited LeBron James.
“I felt Anthony Davis was in LeBron’s way,” Marcus Morris said during a recent interview on the Kevin O’Connor Show. He immediately gave the explanation for his surprising opinion: “LeBron is really a four now and that’s the position that Anthony Davis wanted to play.”
On James‘ style of play at this stage of his professional career, Morris considered: “He’s always on the box, he wasn’t really stretching the three that well.” He then analyzed what Doncic’s arrival meant: “Now you add another guard. Not even just another guard, let’s make that clear, you add a top-five guard in the NBA that can get it from anywhere.”
The former Cleveland Cavaliers power forward then talked about LeBron and Luka‘s on-court chemistry. “It’s a matchup nightmare,” he said. “When 77 walks in the building, OKC, Minnesota, Phoenix, Clippers – they dread seeing him. And now he has 23 on his back.” He then joked: “What does that equal? 100. Anytime it equals to a hundred, hey man, you got a problem … if LeBron and Luka stay healthy.”
Morris is confident in the Lakers
In the same chat with Kevin O’Connor, Marcus Morris talked about the team he believes will be the favorite this year in the NBA. “I’m gonna go with the Lakers,” he said. “Whenever you have LeBron James and Luka Doncic as your primary ball handlers and AR (Austin Reaves) as a third option, I love that because you can put the ball in each of these guys’ hands.”
LeBron James’ change of style
When the trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks was confirmed, many focused their attention on the fact that Anthony Davis would finally be able to play power forward in Dallas, his favorite position, and would no longer be forced to play center, as had been the norm in Los Angeles.
However, the trade also had a similar effect on LeBron James’ game. The reconfiguration of the Lakers‘ roster in recent months included the departure of guards like D’Angelo Russell and Max Christie, which allowed Austin Reaves to take on an even bigger role alongside Luka Doncic. And that, in turn, allowed LeBron to disengage a little more from the creative phase to take advantage of his teammates’ assists and play closer to the rim.
Marcus Morris isn’t the first former NBA player to note this change in James’ role. “I gotta get LeBron a lot of credit, because he has accepted the role of being a finisher instead of a starter,” Charles Barkley recently said on TNT. And Carmelo Anthony, on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, considered: “All the passes that LeBron was throwing to Anthony Davis, Luka is capable of making those same exact passes. The roles is reversed now. He’s AD right now, and Luka is him.”