The first episode of season two of LeBron James' "Mind the Game" podcast dropped on Tuesday, and among the topics he discussed with his new co-host Steve Nash was the task of making a big trade at midseason and building chemistry on the fly afterward.
It is something James' Los Angeles Lakers have had to do this season. They first shipped out struggling guard D'Angelo Russell for 3-and-D forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who helped change the team's character and improve its defense, which had been weak early in the season.
Then came the tectonic Luka Doncic trade on Feb. 1. While the Lakers started to get hot shortly afterward and were being considered contenders by plenty of people, others were a bit skeptical that they could go very deep in the playoffs after making such big changes at midseason.
On "Mind the Game," James admitted that it's difficult to integrate stars into a lineup in the middle of a season, but he also said that a team that does so can still contend (h/t Lakers Daily).
“They’re wrong,” James said of the assertion that an NBA team can’t make a blockbuster deal partway into a campaign and contend. “They’re wrong.”
“... It’s very challenging, especially midseason because — I mean, you know. You really start the season in September, and you start to implement what you want to do offensively, what you want to do defensively.
“And yes, throughout the course of the season there’s times where, ‘Okay, maybe we shouldn’t do this. Okay, let’s lean to this.’ But the premise and the staple of what you want to do offensively and defensively is put in place, you know? So, when you add a — when you talk about blockbuster, not just a regular get a piece here or there but if you add a blockbuster trade where you bring in a Luka Doncic or a blockbuster trade or if a Anthony Davis goes to Dallas, whatever. You have to kind of rearrange how we’re playing, you know?”
Shortly after Doncic made his debut in a Purple and Gold uniform, the team rolled off 20 wins in 24 games. But then a few key players, including James, got hurt, and seven losses in 10 games followed.
The Lakers have recovered to win back-to-back games with playoff implications against the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. They're now back to full strength, and there are signs that they're starting to figure out how to maximize what they have offensively.
However, they will be at a relative disadvantage against several teams in the playoffs, not just because of their remaining roster weaknesses but also because Doncic has been a Laker for only about two months.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James feels a team that makes a big midseason trade can contend
