LeBron James has opposite message for Luka than he once did for Cavaliers teammate

Once upon a time, LeBron James was the alpha and omega of every basketball team he was on. The best player in the league for a decade or more, he was the original heliocentric star, the player you built your team around. When adding players to a LeBron James team, the front office's first question had to be "how does he fit with LeBron James?"

When that question was answered correctly, you got ideal role players who helped elevate his teams to the championship. The Cavaliers adding a high-volume shooter like J.R. Smith or a stretch big like Channing Frye or a combo forward like Richard Jefferson who could space the floor but defend forwards to give James a break -- all of those helped propel Cleveland to a title. A few years earlier, it was Shane Battier and Ray Allen who made an impact for the Miami Heat.

When LeBron James teams have fallen short of the prize it has often been because front offices lost sight of that question. How did Russell Westbrook fit with LeBron James? The answer was that he didn't. How did Isaiah Thomas fit with LeBron James? Even if he had been healthy, the answer was that he didn't. Teams had to find player who fit well as shooters and defenders around the greatest point forward in the history of basketball.

Now, however, something has changed. LeBron James is 40 years old. The weight of being the sun, moon and stars for a team is probably too much for him to bear alone. For a team to excel, there is a point where he needs to take a step back, becoming the No. 2 for a team for them to fully realize their potential.

James tried that at times playing alongside Anthony Davis, who was having one of the best seasons of his career -- arguably the best -- for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. Yet at his core Davis is a high-end No. 2, a co-star, a dependent superstar who brings elite defense and elite finishing. He isn't a player to take the reigns on running the show.

He is not, in other words, a player like Luka Doncic.

The Lakers needed Luka Doncic

The Lakers have been roundly praised for their shocking out-of-nowhere trade for Luka Doncic. Yet it's impossible to say the trade was made with maximizing LeBron James in mind. Doncic is the heir to the throne of King James, a heliocentric star who makes his teammates better by having the ball in his hands. He is the successor to LeBron, not the complement.

Doncic is a top-5 player in the world and is still only 25 years old. It makes perfect sense for the Lakers to make him the priority now. They attempted to do just that by trading for Mark Williams, a lob-catching center, at the Trade Deadline. That deal was later rescinded, but it speaks to how the priority is now Doncic, not LeBron.

That may be true from an organizational standpoint, but it's another thing entirely for a player who was four years old when LeBron made his NBA debut to step into the locker room and onto the court and act like it's now his team. LeBron commands respect, respect he has earned from a 22-year career.

In past years, LeBron has often resorted to speaking through the media, or via passive-aggressive comments. Yet he took a different tack this time around. With all eyes on Luka for his Lakers debut, LeBron James huddled the team up, looked Doncic in the eye, and told him "Luka, be your f---ing self. Don't fit in, fit the f---out."

They were words meant for a superstar taking the torch from LeBron James. The King is still a Top-15 player in the league, but he is not Luka Doncic. He is not the long-term face of the franchise. And if he continues to dominate the ball the Lakers will not maximize their talents and have a shot at another title.

The phrasing he used was obviously intentional -- and it should remind Cleveland Cavaliers fans of another statement to a star teammate.

LeBron James once told Kevin Love to "fit in"

Roll back the clock a full decade, to February 7, 2015. It was LeBron's first season back in Cleveland after "The Return" and the Cavaliers had appeared to catch their stride. A team hastily thrown together around LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love had stumbled through the holidays, at one point losing 9 of 10 games to fall to 19-20. Then they took off, famously making bold trades to add J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov, and won 12 straight games.

The win streak was broken by a four-point loss in Indiana, when LeBron labored to 25 points on 21 shots and Kevin Love was noticeably passive. Love finished the game 2-for-8 for just five points, and James took to social media to call him out -- although not by name, of course.

"Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN," LeBron wrote on Twitter. "Be apart of something special! Just my thoughts."

Love was a high-volume versatile big to start his career in Minnesota, handling the ball everywhere on the court. He was comfortable shooting from deep, but he was also a monster in the post or handling in the upper paint and at the elbows.

With the Cavaliers, however, he was essentially asked to be a spot-up threat. LeBron James didn't want to spot up in the corner so Love could go to work inside. He didn't want to give up the ball and see whether Love could cook. He wanted him to stand in the corner and space the floor.

That was a difficult adjustment for Love, and he had to try and reform his game from engine to support player. He obviously found that rhythm, playing a key role on four consecutive Finals teams, but it was an uncomfortable change. And LeBron made it clear: a change it must be, because that was his team.

Fast forward 10 years, and the message is different. LeBron has matured as a leader and communicator, but more so, he recognizes his basketball mortality and the upside of a team with LeBron at the helm vs one with Luka Doncic at the helm. The Lakers need Luka Doncic not to lose his effectiveness in order to try and "support" LeBron James. They need Doncic fully deployed, handling and directing and passing and scoring.

This time around, it will be LeBron James finding a way to "FIT-IN" to be a part of something special.