After a brilliant individual season that was cut short by a hamstring strain he suffered in early April, Luka Doncic has spent the offseason so far with his family, which includes his two daughters, and has started training for next season.
There are reports, however, that he has remained very connected to the Los Angeles Lakers as they begin what he said will be a very important offseason for them. He has reportedly been in constant communication with general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick, and he may even be trying to recruit Jalen Duren, the 22-year-old Detroit Pistons All-Star center who is about to become a restricted free agent.
An ESPN report indicated that Doncic has remained in touch with LeBron James and Austin Reaves, although he hasn’t tried to convince either star to remain alongside him in Los Angeles.
“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.,” wrote Dave McMenamin.
In fact, according to McMenamin, the conversations between the stars have centered around a hobby that Doncic and James recently picked up and that Reaves is an avid participant in.
“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.”
James is about to become an unrestricted free agent, and Reaves will as well once he opts out of his contract, which he is widely expected to do. All three luminaries dealt with significant injuries this season, but when they were healthy at the same time, they started to show their potential, as the team won 16 of 18 games in late February and March.
In March, Doncic averaged 37.5 points, eight rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals a game as Los Angeles went 15-2 and he won his second Western Conference Player of the Month award. Overall, he put up 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.6 steals a game, and he was named to the All-NBA First Team while winning his second scoring title.
While the Slovenian native has never won the league MVP, at least not yet, he made it clear in a recent interview that winning the NBA championship is the most important thing to him when it comes to basketball. If the Lakers were to lose James or Reaves, or both, in free agency, it would be a major blow to the hopes both they and Doncic have of winning the sport’s grand prize.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: Luka Doncic has kept in touch with LeBron James, Austin Reaves
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
