"Openly taunting LeBron"- Skip Bayless claims Los Angeles Lakers is disrespecting LeBron James by backing Luka Doncic

LeBron James has reportedly not been pleased with the Los Angeles Lakers' decision to make Luka Doncic the team's spokesperson. Reportedly, due to all of this, he has also been the subject of trade rumors. At the 2025 EuroBasket Tournament, analyst Skip Bayless asserted that the top-tier management of the Los Angeles Lakers is openly disrespecting LeBron James by backing Luka Doncic and his Slovenian National Team.

Skip Bayless claims Los Angeles Lakers are sidelining LeBron James for Luka Doncic

This summer, the Los Angeles Lakers have been looking for players that can complement Luka Doncic and hoping to sign him for the future. They're determined to assemble the squad around him. Visiting Doncic when he is playing in EuroBasket, former ESPN talking head Bayless feels that the L.A. Lakers have already pushed LeBron James out. Skip Bayless has always openly discussed conspiracy theories about LeBron James from the beginning of his career and he recently did the same.He said: "I just read in The Athletic that Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka, Linda and Kurt Rambis, all flew all the way to Poland to show their support for Luka playing in the EuroBasket tournament. What? Man, was that cold. That was just openly taunting LeBron. That was all but dancing on LeBron's NBA grave."

He continued:"Rob Pelinka even referred to Luka as the face of the franchise. That's funny (because) LeBron is still the face of the league.

But obviously, the Lakers' brass has made it clear as broken glass that the Lakers brass did not want LeBron to opt in for his $ 52.5 million this coming season."According to Bayless, General Manager Rob Pelinka and President Jeanie Buss are reportedly annoyed by LeBron's antics. Hence, they are purposefully making their appreciation for Luka public while subtly separating themselves from him.However, what Bayless finds most memorable is that, even though James was named the NBA's leading face in 2023, the Lakers' management appears perfectly happy to let Doncic take over as the face going ahead. He therefore sees this as more evidence of a "cold war" between LeBron and the Lakers executives that may prevent the 21-time All-Star from really retiring as a Laker.

LeBron James remains focused on fitness despite Los Angeles Lakers’ public support for Luka Doncic

Many believed that James should have accepted a pay reduction when he exercised his player option to earn $52 million to return for the 2025-26 season. This would have allowed the Purple & Gold to acquire better supporting cast members. Meanwhile, the Lakers' trip to Europe to watch Doncic play is not the most pressing issue for James. He is more focused on maintaining his physical fitness for the upcoming demanding NBA season.

James has mostly kept quiet about all of this in public. According to the analyst, the Lakers' visit to Doncic during his EuroBasket play was an insult to James. Despite his age, James has shown that he can still be a key player next to Doncic, but it's clear that the Lakers and he don't agree on who should be in charge of this. Bron is undoubtedly struggling to accept this after being the center of attention for more than 20 years.Also read: Luka Doncic wants LeBron James to finish his career with Los Angeles Lakers despite growing tensions