Brian Windhorst: LeBron James would also love to play with Luka Doncic

What piqued Windhorst’s interest, however, is the prospect of LeBron teaming up with Mavs superstar Luka Doncic in the future: “I would say something else though,” Windhorst said. “As part of this answer, LeBron was having fun here to be clear. He wasn’t making a declarative statement. He talked about how much he admires Luka Doncic, and that is something that you should put in your back pocket. “Don’t ever judge LeBron a hundred percent on his words, judge him on his actions. The best way you can see how LeBron feels about people is who he drafts in his All-Star draft. He has drafted Luka Doncic all three years he’s been an All-Star. He tried to recruit Luka Doncic to his brand within Nike a few years ago. Luka picked the Jordan brand instead. He, I think, would also love to play with Luka.”
Source: Paolo Songco @ Clutch Points

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Mavericks’ Luka Doncic gets 16th technical foul of season, faces 1-game ban
sportando.basketball/en/mavericks-l… – 4:19 AM

Chris Biderman @TheWarriorsWire
After LeBron James listed Steph Curry as a player he wants to play with someday, the Golden State Warriors guard responded. warriorswire.usatoday.com/2022/04/07/ste… – 1:00 AM

Bill Oram @billoram
The Lakers are leading by more points tonight than in any game since the loss in New Orleans two weeks back, when they led by 23. But then LeBron got hurt and the whole thing came crashing down. – 12:31 AM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Mavs clinch homecourt, lose Luka Doncic as he collects 16th technical foul dallasnews.com/sports/maveric… – 12:22 AM

CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Luka Doncic suspended for Mavericks’ final regular-season game after picking up 16th technical foul
cbssports.com/nba/news/luka-… – 12:11 AM

Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Mavericks react to Luka’s 16th technical foul and the Los Angeles Lakers’ lost season.
mavs.com/mav-blazer-not… – 11:40 PM

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Pool report with ref Tony Brothers regarding Luka Doncic’s 16th technical foul of the season: pic.twitter.com/9Bm7qzUk5Z – 11:36 PM

Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
Catching up after night off to see in that in the last week, Tony Brothers has now:
— Double-tech ejected Jason Kidd vs. Wizards for asking about possession
— Hit Luka Doncic for suspension-triggering Tech No. 16 (in a game Luka def didn’t need to gripe) dallasnews.com/sports/maveric… – 11:34 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Doncic on the tech: pic.twitter.com/uBpKmo5IUx – 11:26 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Finney-Smith on Tony Brothers’ tech on Doncic. “Tony don’t play… Tony’s from Virginia. He don’t play.” – 11:23 PM

Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
With LeBron, AD, Westbrook and Anthony out, LAL’s new starting lineup has had some good stretches these last two nights, but the end-of-bench group has struggled.
OKC took a 7-point lead late in the 1st Q before Gabriel and Ellington stopped a run with B2B 3’s. – 11:06 PM

Mark Followill @MFollowill
Mavs for just the 5th time in team history win a game by 50+ pts. It was 50 on the button tonight with a 128-78 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Luka with 39 pts to lead Dallas – 11:03 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Kidd says he didn’t speak to Tony Brothers directly about Doncic’s technical, but was told that Brothers noted that Doncic went out of his way to complain.
“We’ll see. Most likely it won’t be overturned and we’ll move forward,” Kidd said. – 11:01 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Luka in 3 quarters:
39 PTS
11 REB
7 AST
7 3PT
+41 +/- pic.twitter.com/DmagJyhNtd – 10:49 PM

Bill Oram @billoram
Fan appreciation night for the Lakers. I’m shocked that no player addressed the fans. Fans don’t get to see LeBron play, but wouldn’t hearing from him be… appreciated? – 10:47 PM

Mark Followill @MFollowill
Luka with the 3rd highest scoring quarter in Mavs history with 25 tonight in the 3rd vs Portland. Dirk with 29 vs Utah in 2009 and Luka with 28 earlier this season in the 1Q vs the Clippers on Feb 10 – 10:32 PM

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Safe to assume that Luka Doncic’s night is over after he goes for 39-11-7 in three quarter and Mavs lead Tank Blazers by 38. Whether that’s it for Doncic’s regular season depends on the league review of his technical foul. – 10:20 PM

Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Luka will finish the third quarter with 39 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Can’t see any reason for him to play in the fourth with the Mavericks up 107-69. His regular season might be done, pending whether that technical foul gets reviewed/rescinded. – 10:18 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
25 third-quarter points for Doncic. Going out with a bang. A big one. – 10:17 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Updated story on LeBron James getting shelved for the rest of the season: ocregister.com/2022/04/08/lak… – 10:17 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
22 third-quarter points for Doncic. Certainly his last quarter of the night. And maybe the regular season. – 10:16 PM

Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Luka Doncic has a 22-point third-quarter going with 1:12 still to go. Mavericks rolling 101-67. – 10:15 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Typically the appeal process for a technical foul can take two or three days, but I’m told the league can and certainly should expedite Doncic’s appeal, which he and the Mavericks certainly will file. – 10:12 PM

Chris Biderman @TheWarriorsWire
LeBron James lists Steph Curry as a player he would like to play with in today’s game. warriorswire.usatoday.com/2022/04/06/leb… – 10:00 PM

Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
An expected blowout as Mavs lead Blazers 68-44 at the half. Powell w/ 16 on 7-7 shooting. But the big story is the tech called on Luka by Tony Brothers protesting a non foul call at end of 1st ( he WAS fouled). The 16th of season and thus will be suspended on Sun vs SA – 9:50 PM

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
ESPN story on Luka Doncic’s suspension-triggering technical foul (will be updated after postgame pool report with ref Tony Brothers): espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 9:48 PM

John Hollinger @johnhollinger
In 20-20 hindsight Dallas should have rested Luka today and kept him off site so he couldn’t get T’d. No way they were losing to this Blazer roster. – 9:39 PM

Bill Oram @billoram
Reflecting on LeBron’s season, Vogel said James serving as the primary roller as a center made him “more of a receiver than he ever had been in his career” and I’m just like, “Well, actually…” theathletic.com/2386596/2021/0… – 9:37 PM

Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Reggie Bulock just set a great screen that freed up Dwight Powell to catch a perfect, 30-foot lob pass from Luka for a reverse jam. Mavericks are up 64-40 with 1:29 to go in the half. Home-court advantage in the first round is just about locked up. – 9:34 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Luka Doncic whistled for 16th technical foul; faces suspension from Sunday’s finale against Spurs dallasnews.com/sports/maveric… – 9:34 PM

David Locke @DLocke09
Luka Doncic got his 16th tech tonight and will be suspended for the final game of the season v. Spurs if they don’t rescind it. This could have massive impact on the Utah Jazz playoff opponent. – 9:29 PM

Mark Followill @MFollowill
Technical foul on Luka between the 1st and 2nd quarter. His 16th of the year and he will be suspended on Sunday for the reg season finale vs San Antonio. – 9:19 PM

Rob Perez @WorldWideWob
Tony Brothers just gave Luka Doncic his 16th technical foul of the season and he will now be suspended for the regular season finale unless the NBA rescinds it. Dallas is currently 1 GB of Golden State. – 9:12 PM

Casey Holdahl @CHold
Doncic missing Dallas’ finale versus San Antonio conceivably helps Portland get the New Orleans pick, so thanks Luka, I guess. – 9:11 PM

Dwain Price @DwainPrice
Luka just got a technical foul. He now has 16 for the season, and will draw an automatic one-game suspension. That means he’s ineligible to play Sunday against San Antonio. Unless the tech is rescinded by the NBA. – 9:10 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Doncic is exasperated. Says he didn’t do anything to deserve the tech. I’m sure he’s going to contest the technical foul, but there’s just 48 hours before Sunday’s game and tomorrow is a Saturday. Could the NBA work that quickly to hear his side of the story? – 9:09 PM

Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Barring the league rescinding it, that technical foul for Luka at the end of the first quarter will ensure he gets some extra rest. It’s his 16th of the season and will mean he’s suspended for Game 82 on Sunday. – 9:08 PM

Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Luka Doncic just got T’d up between quarters. That’s officially 16 for the season, meaning he will be suspended for Sunday’s season finale. He was upset that he got undercut on a buzzer-beating heave. Tony Brothers gave him the T. – 9:08 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Uh-oh. Technical foul on Doncic. That’s his 16th, meaning that, if the tech holds up, he will be suspended from the Mavs’ season finale on Sunday against San Antonio. – 9:07 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
Per @Dallas Mavericks PR this is Doncic’s first career quarter with at least 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
And he actually has 13 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. – 9:04 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
LeBron James thanks fans for support after being shut down for season nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/08/leb… – 9:01 PM

Brad Townsend @townbrad
With a smile, Doncic scolding/kidding Finney-Smith about not taking the layup. – 8:46 PM

Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Mavs starters: Bullock, DFS, Powell, Brunson, Doncic
POR starters: Elleby, Brown, Eubanks, Johnson, Dunn
7:40 tip @theeagledallas – 8:06 PM

Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
New @FrontOfficeShow is up! @Trevor_Lane and I talk Jokic making history, Ja maybe coming back, Lakers shutting down LBJ plus more Lakers drama and the latest end-of-season transactions around the NBA. Watch, like and subscribe below. Almost to 17K now!
youtu.be/iYi3D8VSy1M – 7:53 PM

Barbara Barker @meanbarb
If Cavs make it to the playoffs this year it will mark the first time they have done so without LeBron James since 1998. Yes, there is some potential for karmic irony here considering LeBron not in playoffs. – 7:53 PM

Jeff Stotts @InStreetClothes
Break out the pimento cheese sandwiches the In Street Clothes Podcast is headed to the Masters. @BrianSuttererMD & I break down the return of Tiger Woods & the injuries of Bryson DeChambeau. We also do quick hits on deGrom, AD, LeBron & more. open.spotify.com/episode/01zQek… – 7:49 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Youngest to average 30 PPG in a season: LeBron James
Oldest to average 30 PPG in a season: LeBron James pic.twitter.com/w1CVVrllXk – 6:49 PM

Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA
If LeBron James could team up with any NBA player, who would he choose?
“Steph Curry is the one I want to play with for sure in today’s game,” LeBron said. “I love everything about that guy. Lethal. When Steph gets out of his car, you better guard him.” basketballnews.com/stories/lebron… – 5:59 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
LeBron missed 1/3 of the season.
AD missed 1/2 of the season.
Westbrook only missed 1 game until LA was eliminated.
That game: LeBron & AD both played and lost to the tanking Blazers.
Russ put up 18.5/7.4/7.1 on the season.
Yet Westbrook is getting all the blame. Come on. – 5:16 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
How LeBron James and Nikola Jokic celebrated their historic individual accomplishments this season. pic.twitter.com/O7Rlqe1T6a – 2:55 PM

Brad Turner @BA_Turner
And the man @Dan Woike has this: LeBron James will miss the Lakers’ final two games latimes.com/sports/lakers/… – 2:50 PM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony are all out vs OKC tonight.
Thunder’s lottery odds are in the hands of the new Lakers Big 3: Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk and Austin Reaves. – 2:35 PM

Joe Mussatto @joe_mussatto
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Kendrick Nunn are out for the Lakers tonight. – 2:31 PM

Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron (out for the season), AD, Westbrook and Melo are out again tonight for the Lakers’ final home game: pic.twitter.com/NcqEFniqug – 2:28 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
LeBron James defied all precedent this year by chasing an NBA scoring title. But that often failed to translate to team success, and the 37-year-old struggled to stay healthy at the end of the season when it mattered.
Now, he’s done: ocregister.com/2022/04/08/lak… – 1:59 PM

Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
We won’t get to see LeBron James play again this season. pic.twitter.com/WzRuFsmauU – 1:55 PM

James Boyd @RomeovilleKid
Yesterday, Lance Stephenson autographed a LeBron James Miami Heat jersey at his meet and greet, so of course I asked him about it:
“I guess (the fan) was making a joke out of it, but I played with LeBron so we ain’t got beef no more.” 😂😂 #Pacers pic.twitter.com/5cK26RqiGC – 1:49 PM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
New story: LeBron James’ season will end with him missing seven of the Lakers final eight games with a sprained left ankle es.pn/3uiYxdv – 1:46 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Lakers: LeBron James to miss the rest of season nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/08/lak… – 1:31 PM

Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Friday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast! We discuss THT’s 40 piece vs. GSW, LeBron vs. Kobe with injuries, and how the front office is crafting a narrative to explain this season that actually looks WORSE for them. #FirstListen @LockedOnNetwork @LockedOnNBAPods
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tal… – 1:30 PM

Michael Singer @msinger
LeBron will miss Sunday’s season finale in Denver, Lakers announce. – 1:27 PM

Vincent Goodwill @VinceGoodwill
No surprise but Lakers announce LeBron James will miss the final two games due to his Injured ankle – 1:24 PM

Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Not a total surprise here. LeBron James is done for the season. pic.twitter.com/bvq5JgtytC – 1:23 PM

Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Lakers announce LeBron James will miss final two games of the season
sportando.basketball/en/lakers-anno… – 1:21 PM

Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds
LeBron James will not win the scoring title. His season is over. (He needed 58 appearances to qualify for the scoring crown.) – 1:12 PM

Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Lakers said: LeBron James’ left ankle was recently reevaluated by Lakers medical staff, and it was determined that due to the ankle sprain James suffered in a game on March 27th, he will miss the remainder of season to allow for continued healing and an expected full recovery. – 1:10 PM

David Aldridge @davidaldridgedc
No surprise re: LeBron: pic.twitter.com/lBUc6F4Nfd – 1:09 PM

Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The official declaration from the Lakers that LeBron James (left ankle) will miss the final two games of the regular season and surrender any chase of the scoring title.
More NBA from me: https://t.co/LGN9cVpeGP pic.twitter.com/AbAXLXlhsM – 1:07 PM

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Lakers rule out LeBron James for the last two games #NBA
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/13… – 1:06 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
Most PPG by a player in their 19th season or later:
30.3 — LeBron
17.6 — Kobe
14.6 — Kareem
LeBron almost has as many as Kobe and Kareem combined. pic.twitter.com/3KIVHfHnB5 – 1:06 PM

Dave McMenamin @mcten
LeBron James will sit tonight against OKC and in Sunday’s finale in Denver. He finishes the season averaging 30.3 points in 56 games – failing to qualify for the scoring title by playing the requisite 58 games. pic.twitter.com/dpPbruZ2ia – 1:05 PM

Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpears
Lakers say LeBron James will miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/hcnadvQZlf – 1:03 PM

Allen Sliwa @AllenSliwa
Lebron season is done… pic.twitter.com/scMonQcx66 – 1:02 PM

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Lakers formally rule out LeBron James for their last two regular season games because of his sprained left ankle. – 1:02 PM

Chris Mannix @SIChrisMannix
LeBron James done for the rest of the season, per Lakers. pic.twitter.com/7jxxZjAXNX – 1:01 PM

Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
Lakers announce LeBron James will miss the remainder of the season with his ankle injury, officially ending his quest for a scoring title at age 37. – 1:01 PM

Bill Oram @billoram
Lakers say LeBron will miss the final two games of the season. pic.twitter.com/2MUtkgdlHt – 1:01 PM

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Lakers say LeBron James will miss the remainder of the season for continued healing of his ankle sprain and expected full recovery. – 1:01 PM

Kyle Goon @kylegoon
LeBron James is out for the rest of the season, the Lakers announce. – 1:01 PM

Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
Talked to Mavs Twitter’s favorite center — Mike Tobey — yesterday…
Won’t give away all we chatted about (👀 @dallasnews next week), but I asked if he’s on board for EuroBasket this offseason: “Oh yeah, definitely.”
Another summer of Luka-Tobey PnRs coming up for Slovenia. pic.twitter.com/mGSQpxKNHT – 12:25 PM

Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
New episode of #TheShop w LeBron & Maverick Carter going live on YouTube in 5 minutes, and @AshNicoleMoss and I are running the YouTube Live Chat. Pull up and stream the episode with us!
youtube.com/watch?v=Vtes2F… – 11:55 AM

Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpears
Top prospect Amari Bailey is changing perceptions on his way to UCLA and the #NBA. Top ranked guard talks about handling social media fame, his relationship with LeBron & Bronny, how his single mother influenced his game & more. @nikehoopsummit @andscape
bit.ly/3LOHTZk – 11:12 AM

Michael Grange @michaelgrange
Since Dec.1 Siakam leads NBA in minutes & avg 23.7/8.8r/5.6a on TS% of 56.7, all ⬆️ than pre-bubble, all-NBA year, and this without Gasol, Ibaka or Lowry. Only Luka, Jokic, LeBron & Giannis hitting those numbers in 21-22. Raps have gone 37-19 & jumped from 12th in East to 5th /2 – 11:04 AM

Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
LeBron, AD and Russ haven’t been ruled out vs OKC tonight because it’s the last home game and fan appreciation day.
I can tell you what fans would appreciate it if they played: Thunder fans. – 11:04 AM

Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_NBA
Friday = 10 Things I Like + Don’t Like, starring the MVP candidate centers, my favorite Luka pass, Jayson Tatum in rare air, VERY IMPORTANT FASHION TIPS, much more:
espn.com/nba/insider/st… – 9:09 AM

Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Anthony Edwards last night:
✅ 49 PTS
✅ 6 REB
✅ 8 AST
It’s the second time Edwards has recorded at least 45p/5r/5a in a game.
He and LeBron James (2) are the only players in NBA history to record multiple such games before their 21st birthday. pic.twitter.com/ltjUkOuDjV – 9:06 AM

More on this storyline

It’s not just all about hearsay from Windhorst here. After all, he is one of the most respected NBA insiders in the industry. The ESPN analyst brings up an excellent point about LeBron’s affinity towards Doncic. In his mind, this potential partnership has more legs than that of a LeBron-Curry duo. “In the fantasy world, to use Steph Curry’s words, if you want to enter the fantasy realm, that is something I think is more worthy of having a discussion about as opposed to Steph,” Windhorst said. “[This is going to be] down the line — I don’t think LeBron’s going anywhere in the short term.” -via Clutch Points / April 9, 2022

Tim MacMahon: Two other guys LeBron loves: Jason Kidd and Jared Dudley -via Twitter @espn_macmahon / April 9, 2022

This line of thinking makes James’ comments in an upcoming episode of “The Shop” fertile ground for speculation and rumormongering. When asked who he would most like to play with in the NBA, James’ first answer was his son, Bronny James, currently a junior in high school. When asked about which current NBA player he’d like to team up with, however, the elder James got the Twitter wheels turning. “In today’s game, sh– there’s some m—–f—— in today’s game, but Steph Curry,” James said. “Steph Curry’s the one that I wanna play with for sure, in today’s game. … I love everything about that guy. Lethal. When he get out his car, you better guard him right from the moment he pulls up to the arena. … You might wanna guard him when he get out of the bed. Swear to god. He’s serious.” -via CBSSports.com / April 7, 2022