Barkley: LeBron will eventually leave Doncic’s Lakers, Mavericks poised to become the West’s second-best team

On August 24th Beijing time, former NBA star Barkley discussed the upcoming season on a podcast, noting that the Lakers are now Doncic’s team and that LeBron will leave eventually. He also provided an analysis of the Western and Eastern Conference landscapes.

“LeBron leaving the Lakers is unavoidable. Even though his numbers remain solid, the Lakers haven’t performed well for nearly four years. Honestly, the Lakers might already be Doncic’s team,” Barkley said. “You traded for Doncic and gave him such a huge contract, so how could it not be his team?”

Barkley expressed that the Western Conference will definitely be exciting next season. “Clearly, the Thunder are championship favorites—I’ve believed that all along. Also, the Rockets and Nuggets made some of the best moves during the offseason, especially in trades. Think about it: the Rockets, a young team, managed to bring in Durant, which is definitely intriguing. The Nuggets finally added some help for Jokic—after their championship, they traded away his key teammates and seemed to be cutting costs, which hurt Jokic badly over the past two years. So, the Nuggets did a great job this offseason.”

When asked about the most competitive teams in the West, Barkley said, “The Lakers are worth watching, but if I had to pick the top three contenders in the West, I’d go with the Thunder, Rockets, and Nuggets. The Durant trade for the Rockets is huge news. And again, Jokic is the best player in the league right now, and the Nuggets finally found him some support. The Lakers remain interesting, but it’s truly Doncic’s team now, and he’ll carry a lot of pressure in the coming years. Also, if the Mavericks can stay healthy, they might become the second-best team in the West. Irving should return around mid-season, and if AD stays healthy, plus that young guy named Flagg—he’s really impressive. I’ve watched a lot of his high school and college games; this kid is definitely a talent. So as long as the Mavericks stay healthy, they could be the West’s second-best team.”

Barkley then analyzed the Eastern Conference situation. “As for the East, I don’t even want to mention it—let me tell you, if you write down five team names on paper, put them in a hat, and randomly pick one saying ‘this team can make it out of the East,’ it could be right... If I had to choose now based on what I know, I’d probably put the Cavaliers as the top favorite in the East. Picking the second-best is tougher. Like I said, even if the Cavs stay healthy, if Embiid and George can both play healthy, I’d bet on the 76ers—but health is a huge ‘if.’ Embiid hasn’t been healthy for five years, and George is getting older.”

Regarding the Magic’s big moves in the offseason, Barkley said, “The Magic are definitely interesting, but they’re too young. I think the top two teams in the East will be the Cavaliers and Knicks. The Magic might be third or fourth, but I don’t see them winning the championship because I don’t think they can beat the Cavs or Knicks in a best-of-seven series.”