Clippers coach Tyronn Lue to those who doubt the Lakers' new Luka-LeBron pairing: 'It'll work'

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — (AP) — Although JJ Redick and Tyronn Lue are opposing coaches in Los Angeles' crosstown NBA rivalry, they're firmly in agreement that Luka Doncic and LeBron James will form a dynamite pairing for the Lakers.

“I’m confident that we can figure out how to blend their talents together in a positive way in a very short amount of time,” Redick said.

Although Doncic wasn't quite ready to debut with the Lakers on Tuesday night, the high-scoring superstar already was the talk of the arena when the Lakers visited the Clippers for their first game since they swung the blockbuster trade sending Anthony Davis and Max Christie to the Dallas Mavericks for Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris.

Before tipoff at Intuit Dome, both coaches were asked repeatedly about Doncic's impact on the Lakers and his potential fit with James, who is midway through his record-tying 22nd NBA season.

Lue is well-positioned to understand what Redick must do when Doncic returns. Lue was James’ coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who won a championship with James playing alongside ballhawk guard Kyrie Irving.

Lue gave a trademark smirk when asked how he would respond to pundits and ex-players like Charles Barkley and Paul Pierce who think James and Doncic won't work well together because they're both ball-dominant players.

“They’re not right,” Lue said. “It’ll work. When you have LeBron James, who’s been the best player in the league for the last 15 years, and you have Luka — who’s a top-three, top-five player in the league — they’ll figure out how to make it work. LeBron can play with anybody. ... I don’t see it’s going to be a problem at all. I know JJ will do a good job of stacking those guys so they each have their own unit, kind of like we did with Kyrie and LeBron, and then in the fourth quarter they’ll close games together. They’ll figure it out. It’s not a tough problem to have, I’ll tell you that.”

Redick and Doncic were teammates for the final 13 games of Redick's lengthy playing career in Dallas in 2021. Doncic later made appearances on Redick's well-regarded podcast.

“I would say we had a friendship (and) mutual respect,” Redick said. “You then have to figure out how to have a working relationship as player/coach, and both him and I are committed to that. I spent about an hour with him on Sunday after he got to the hotel from Dallas. Had a great conversation with him. Had a subsequent conversation. I'm excited to build that with him.”

Doncic is close to returning from a strained left calf that has sidelined him since Christmas. He will participate in 5-on-5 practice work Wednesday before the Lakers and Doncic's representatives formulate a plan for his return to action.

Talk about Doncic was a theme all across LA.

Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar had plenty to say after practice about the impact of Doncic, one of the few Slovenian athletes more famous than Kopitar, who already reached out to his countryman with congratulations.

“He’s obviously a superstar around the world, not just in Slovenia,” Kopitar said. “For our country, being so small, obviously everybody knows him. And it was a big deal, I know from what I heard from back home. It’s obviously nice to have him here, and the Lakers have had success with other Slovenians in the lineup, so it’ll be fun to see him in purple and gold.”

Kopitar was referring to Sasha Vujacic, who won two NBA championships and became a fan favorite during six seasons with the Lakers.

Kopitar typically catches a couple of Lakers games each year, but he expects to attend many more in the future — because his kids are big fans of Doncic.

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AP freelancer Dan Greenspan in El Segundo contributed to this report.

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