Stephen A. wants LeBron to FEEL RESPONSIBLE for convincing Luka Doncic into extension 👀 | First Take

Stephen A. wants LeBron to FEEL RESPONSIBLE for convincing Luka Doncic into extension 👀 | First Take

The Lakers approach the off season with many questions. Luca, who is set to be a free agent in the summer of 2026, is eligible to sign up to a 4-year $229 million extension this August. While LeBron has a player option to walk away next season, the King has said that convincing Luca to sign a long-term deal is not his job. Yesterday, Wendy had a lot to say about those comments from LeBron. One of the things that LeBron has said regarding Luca throughout the couple of months since the trade is like they’re moving forward with Luca as a franchise player and he’s like they should um you know I don’t you know it’s you know that’s who you know the Lakers have decided they that Luca is going to be at the center of their decisions going forward. It’s not going to be me. I don’t think he’s like doing back flips about it but I think he’s like they got to do it. And so like he doesn’t want like if Luca doesn’t sign or whatever this summer, he doesn’t want it to be on him. He’s like, well, you know, if Luca doesn’t want to be here in 2027, like don’t talk to me about it. Perk, should LeBron feel some responsibility to recruit Luca to sign with the Lakers? Hell yeah. Hell yeah. A lot of responsibility, right? Didn’t Rob Pelinka feel the responsibility to draft Bronny? Then Rob Pelinka feel a responsibility to hire JJ Reic, right? Which was a LeBron James hire as well. So why not? Why not? I mean, damn. You they scratched your back. You can’t scratch theirs. And you’re talking about Luca Donic. And correct me if I’m wrong, Wendy, but h hasn’t LeBron been on record saying that Luca is the one player before he got to the Lakers that he would love to play with like he love Luca Don’s game. Matter of fact, didn’t he want Luca to be somewhat of a, you know, uh, under his brand as a for a signature shoe? Correct me if I’m wrong here. Hell yeah. You got to help uh the Lakers. Yes, you should be a part of it. The Lakers has done everything and more to please LeBron James. From firing Darvin Ham to trading away key pieces to get Russell Westbrook in, that didn’t work. You ship Russell Westbrook out. He became the scapegoat. Draft comes, you sign Bronny, you draft Bronny James, you sign him to a contract, guaranteed all across the board. Kudos to that. But then you get your coaching JJ Reic who you started a podcast with. You damn right he should be in the process and help the Lakers force getting Luca to resign back. Brian went horsehorse. I mean, this is a nuanced answer. Like, you know, it’s not that he wouldn’t do anything, like wouldn’t pick up the phone or whatever, but actions over words. The Lakers actions have made it clear they’re focused on Luca. That’s not an insult. That’s just reality. They didn’t ask LeBron during the process of trading for Luca. You know, LeBron and Anthony Davis asked for years, please, will you go and use these future first round picks to acquire some supporting players to help us? The Lakers did not. Luca was there for one week and they went out and used the first round picks and assets that they had to trade for Mark Williams. Now, the physical came in and they rescended it, but that was what Anthony Davis was begging for. Anthony Davis wanted it so bad he arranged an interview with Shams to ask for it publicly because privately wasn’t working. LeBron wanted the same thing. They didn’t do it. Luca gets there and they do it. That’s because Luca is their main guy right now. He’s their main focus. LeBron’s responsibility is to remain in fantastic condition, be a leader in the locker room, and support Luca. That’s his role. the terms of building the roster and forming it around a player that was LeBron for six years. That’s not LeBron anymore. Yes, obviously as they look forward to the 2025 26 season where I believe LeBron will be back. You’re going to want to incorporate and make sure you see how LeBron and Luca and whatever center you bring in and whatever else you bring in fit together. But this is now Luca, the Luca Donuch era in LA. That’s not an insult. That’s just reality. That’s how the Lakers are operating. We just saw Rob Pelinka come out of a meeting with Luca Donuch at a spot in Hollywood, a great restaurant, by the way. He comes out, he’s got a big giant binder under his hand that he just had this meeting with Luca. He’s talking about the future and stuff with Luca. It’s not that he wouldn’t talk about it with LeBron, but that’s who it is. Like, if you were in the job, Perk, that’s what you would do, too. It’s not controversial. It’s just reality. And that’s what LeBron is is is taking on that reality. Go ahead, Perk. I’ll let you go again before I chime in. When I I never said that that shouldn’t be the Lakers main priority. Luca should. LeBron James said it him itself. Hey, Luca, we don’t need you to fit in. We need you to fit out. He basically handed the keys to Luca. And rightfully so. The question is, should it be on LeBron to get Luca to resign, not go out? LeBron doesn’t have a fiveyear vision for the Lakers. Like LeBron’s going year to year. the the five-year vision for the Lakers is on GD bus and Rob Pelinka. And is Bronny on the roster for the next what three years? Maybe. Is is JJ I’m saying he’s on the roster right now? He signed with the Lakers guaranteed money, right? His contract was four years. Am I correct? Y Okay. Is JJ Reic is JJ Reic on the roster for the next five years? Yeah. And that’s why JJ and Rob Pelinka are making are working with Luca. That’s that’s the guys that got to convince them to sign, not LeBron. You are special. Let let me let me let me say this. Um it you are absolutely right. And Perk, it is not I want to make sure that I’m very very clear. It is not LeBron James responsibility to ensure that Luca Donic resigns with the Los Angeles Lakers, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t feel a responsibility. That’s where we’re going here. Put Wendy and Perk up on the screen because I want to see them when I’m saying this. I want to emphasize it is not LeBron’s responsibility. Meaning from the rest of us, he shouldn’t have that official responsibility. But should he feel a responsibility? Well, the operative words would be, “Why not?” When LeBron went to Miami, was he not recruited by D. Wayade? I mean, would he have been in Miami if it were not for D. Wayade? He deserves credit for choosing to go to Los Angeles because he certainly didn’t have to. And he chose to wear a Lakers uniform and stay with the Lakers all of these years. That is true. But Darvin Ham is gone despite taking him to a Western Conference Finals. Um JJ Reic, who you were doing the podcast with, is the coach. I mean, stop the presses. Please don’t stab me in the heart. I’m not committing a crime here. I’m just reporting the facts. Is not Bronnie James on that roster? You trying to tell me that the Los Angeles Lakers were clamoring to go and get him with the number 55 overall pick? They just couldn’t wait to do it. That’s what happened. It had nothing to do with LeBron. The NBA, the business of the NBA is about relationships. LeBron has a relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has a relationship, one would summize, with teammates in his locker room. So, no matter what the dollars say, because obviously the dollars matter, but if you’re somebody like Luca, other than what Dallas wouldn’t give you, the the kind of dollars that the Lakers are offering you, you can get around that ballpark from anybody else if you were out on the free agent market or what have you. So those relationships that a Rob Pelinka can’t have, a Genie Bus can’t have, but you can have with your teammate inside that locker room, which LeBron James is clearly a leader in and has influence in it. There is something to be said about your ability to ingratiate yourself with your teammates to make the proposition of him staying that much more appealing. Again, the word responsibilities is not to be taken literal. He does not have that responsibility. But should he feel a responsibility, if he wants to remain a Los Angeles Laker, if he wants to position himself to compete for championships in the years to come, the few years that he has left that he intends to be in Los Angeles, you’re damn right, he should feel it. And if Luke is a vital cog in that equation that you know in terms of the Los Angeles Lakers propelling itself uh to heights h that they haven’t seen in a few years then LeBron being a member of the franchise should feel compelled to assist in that journey rather than just standing on the sidelines and saying I got nothing to do with this. This is on y’all. That should be the attitude. And I’m not accusing him of that because obviously I don’t know what he’s thinking. I’m simply making the point that he should be feeling like, yo, this is what I want to do. You guys are on television. First Take is my day job. It’s very, very important to me. You guys contribute to that level of success. I can’t have this attitude. I don’t care if Wendy’s on. I don’t care if Big Perk’s on. I don’t care if Swagoo or RC or anybody else is on. That’s their damn problem. You’re damn right I care because you make the show better. And if he’s going to make the team better, then LeBron James should be one of the first people saying, “Yo, man. I want you to stay. What What What can we do to make you resign? Absolutely he should. Go ahead, Wendy. Well, I’m sure he does care and I’m sure he does want him to resign, but it’s not his responsibility. The days of it being his responsibility are probably passed. Now, if the Lakers want to come and offer him a three-year max contract extension, which they should not, they should go yeartoear just like he’s going year to year. But if they want to come and say, “LeBron, here’s a three-year max contract with a no trade clause. Let’s sit side by side, you, us, and Luca, and put this team together,” that’s a different story. But I don’t think LeBron’s in that headsp space, and I don’t think the Lakers in that head space. The Lakers are in the headsp space of what two or three or four moves can we make this summer to be really good for Luca Donuch when we go see him in August when we bring our contract and say, “Here, sign this.” That’s the Lakers number one goal. That’s not involving LeBron. Luca is under contract for next season. LeBron has a player option. That’s going to happen. They’re going to be on the Lakers. They’re talking about beyond that. I don’t think it’s again, I don’t think this is controversial. I think the Lakers have to pivot. They have to maximize 2025 26 and they have to pivot to focusing on building around Luca and the pitch is from the Lakers organization to Luca. I don’t think it’s complicated. Of course, LeBron wants him to be there. Of course, he wants Lakers to be successful. It’s not on LeBron James play. It’s not on the play, but you’re acting like LeBron James, like the Lakers, go ahead and make your pitch and it’s perfectly okay if LeBron says, “Y’all are on y’all own. Do it your damn self. I got nothing to do with this.” You act like there’s no issue with that. And I think both me and I think it’s I think it’s the other way. I think it’s the other way. I think it’s the Lakers saying, “We’re focused on Luca and LeBron is doing his thing.” I don’t think it’s LeBron stepping away. I think it’s a Laker decision. Well, but the subject is the subject because of what LeBron James said, Wendy. We we we’re not accusing them and we know it’s on the Lakers and we know it’s not LeBron James responsibility. I’m simply saying there’s nothing wrong if if with us saying the star of a franchise, an iconic basketball brand that he is exercising some influence to helping a dude remain his teammate. We all we’re saying is there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and that’s usually expected. Real quick, Perk, I’ll give you the last word. When when did what did Rob Pelinka say in his his interview uh after the season? Didn’t he say Lee Lee LeBron James ex expects me to build a championship roster? Didn’t he say that? Yes. Yeah. Oh, so they are worried about that worried about Oh, but okay. But they are. But what I’m saying is the fact that he bought it up at this point and we’re saying that they’re only worried about Luca. That’s not the case cuz he wouldn’t have said that about Bru if he was only worried about Hey guys, guys. Love hearing from y’all, but I got bills to pay. That’s most important.

Kendrick Perkins and Brian Windhorst join Stephen A. Smith on First Take to debate whether it is LeBron James’ responsibility to convince Luka Doncic to sign an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers or not.

0:00 Windy’s initial opinion
1:11 Perk says “hell yea it is”
5:01 Perk & Windy debate
6:10 Stephen A.: Not LeBron’s responsibility
9:59 Does LeBron care?
11:30 Stephen A. & Windy get into it

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