There was a moment of complete radio silence on February 2. ESPN’s senior insider, Shams Charania, had dropped the biggest trade news in the NBA’s history. Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis were unexpectedly traded, catching everyone off guard. It wasn’t April 1, and it wasn’t a prank; even Charania couldn’t believe what he had just informed the world. What were the after effects of the blockbuster trade? Did LeBron James know anything about it?

Well, not too long ago, Marcus Morris hinted that the Akron Hammer knew about the turn of events; ‘LeGM,’ someone told on social media. But LeBron? He says he didn’t know anything. However, bringing back his show Mind The Game on Tuesday with new co-host Steve Nash, James Sr. finally found his space to speak of the aftermath.

LeBron James said: “When you add a blockbuster trade where you bring in a Luka Donic or a Blockbuster trade, or if Anthony Davis goes to Dallas, whatever, you have to kind of rearrange how we’re playing.” He highlighted how such moves simply (in the most complex way) rearrange a team’s strategy. “Now Dallas goes from being heavy pick and roll to four out, one big comes set it for Luka, you get a roller, you get spreads. When Luka sits down, Kyrie gets the ball, and now he does his thing. Their team kind of changes, and our team dynamic changes, too.”

However, for the Los Angeles Lakers, this trade wasn’t going to be easy. King James noted: “We need AD to touch the ball every time down. We have to have AD engaged in order for us to be able to win.” When The Brow stayed engaged in the offense, everything worked out for LA. Defensively, his presence just made the Lakers incredible.

Now, having someone like Luka Doncic on the team has also shifted the dynamics. Was it a much-needed change? Maybe. “Now we have to change our whole thing to something completely different,” LeBron James emphasized. “Completely different because Luka needs the ball. He has to have the ball. It makes no sense to bring in Barry Bonds if we’re not going to have him back clean.” The team must adapt because Luka thrives with the ball. No half-measures, no compromises. If you bring in a game-changer, you build around him. Otherwise, it’s a wasted move—like signing Barry Bonds and never letting him swing. What a comparison!

At the same time, losing Anthony Davis unlocked opportunities for the Lakers. They had two paths ahead of themselves. One, to go all-out on the defensive side of the game and rebuild. Two, become the worst defensive team of the season. JJ Redick & Co. found their ground, to say the least.

LeBron James reveals the shift in strategy for the other NBA franchises after the Anthony Davis trade

Anthony Davis has been a consistent name in the Defensive Player of the Year category. Therefore, giving him up to the Dallas Mavericks meant leaving the rim open for the opponents to attack. “It was either one or two things for us when we lost him,” LeBron James said. “Either be the worst defensive team in the league, right? Or now it’s like, oh s–, we don’t have AD to cover our a–.” What did this mean to the Lakers?

“Sure, okay, we got to play even harder now. We have to cover for one another because we can’t rely on a blowby every time. We have to be on the string in order for us to get stops,” the Akron Hammer replied. James painted a picture of AD’s defensive brilliance. The opponent drives, the defense scrambles, and for a moment, it’s chaos. Then, out of nowhere, AD soars in—a human eraser, wiping away mistakes. That’s the kind of security only a few teams ever have.

Moreover, LeBron James knows the NBA favors offense. The game is built for scorers, for highlight plays, for points on the board. But when it matters most, defense wins. “Timely stops. One or two,” he said. Then, he laid it out—“If you could get three stops in a row in crunch time, you could crack a game open.” That’s the difference between winning and watching someone else celebrate.

Thus, the Lakers took a gamble, and the league felt the shockwaves; so did LeBron James. Losing AD shattered their defensive core, but gaining Doncic forced a complete reset. Now, it’s all about adaptation, about finding a new way to win. Some trades change rosters; this one rewrote the playbook. And for the 29 NBA teams? The King’s strategic shift is something worth thinking about.