Gilbert Arenas believes Trae Young is treated differently than Luka Doncic

Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas believes that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is putting “so much pressure on people” by playing at such a high level at his age. “It just puts so much pressure on people,” Arenas said. “The fact that he’s 39, doing what he’s doing, makes 30 seem like you’re a rookie. Now we have a glimpse of what 38 and 39 is capable of doing, which means when players are looking like they’re slowing down at 31, 32, I don’t know how we accept that anymore.” While Arenas has James’ age wrong (he’s actually 38), his sentiment still stands. There are other players that have not been able to maintain close to the same level of play for as long as James has in the NBA. James’ longevity is unheard of, and he’s been relatively healthy for most of his career, especially prior to joining the Lakers. With Los Angeles, it’s been a little bit of a different story. -via Lakers Daily / August 9, 2023

Gilbert Arenas: Anthony Davis did everything the Lakers asked him to do! Don’t let LeBron’s dominance at his age make you think that AD still not HIM. -via Twitter @GilsArenaShow / August 9, 2023

“I talked to Ty Lue,” Arenas said. “He said, ‘We gave him everything we had. He didn’t want to go nowhere, and we’re glad he didn’t.’” As for why, Arenas said Lue told him just how important Westbrook became to the team in a short amount of time. “We’ve never had a leader, and he is our leader,” Arenas claims Lue told him. -via Sports Illustrated / August 6, 2023

Cameron Tabatabaie: NBA 2K just announced updated overall player ratings for NBA 2K24 🔥🏀🎮 Nikola Jokic: 98 overall. Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Joe Embiid, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry: 96 overall. Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler: 95 overall. Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker: 94 overall. -via Twitter @CTabatabaie / August 9, 2023

Luka Doncic posted 34 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds to record his second triple-double with Slovenia this summer, as his national team beat Montenegro 104 – 100 in a preparation game ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. -via EuroHoops.net / August 8, 2023

Doncic, who had his previous triple-double vs. Greece, also hit the go-ahead triple with 54 seconds remaining and the score tied at 97. He finished with 11-21 shots and committed just two turnovers over the 32:52 minutes he spent on the floor. -via EuroHoops.net / August 8, 2023

Recent coaching turmoil in Atlanta doesn’t help Young have the best reputation, but that’s also unfair to pin it all on him for a dysfunctional organization. With the World Cup and Olympics happening in back-to-back years, maybe that slightly factors in this year’s roster selection? Team USA has historically valued the Olympics much more than the World Cup, but it sure sounds like Young, from his comments, has been rebuffed entirely. Whether Young’s brand representation or on-court style hurt him more remains to be seen. I guess we’ll find out next year once the Olympic roster is set. -via The Athletic / August 8, 2023

Tim MacMahon: I heard Trae Young did not make a great case for himself during his previous time at the Team USA program. Brian Windhorst: I will tell you that in 2019 before China, Trae was on the Select team. The US needed a point guard and Gregg Popovich promoted Derrick White. That obviously was his point guard at the time, and Trae young and De’Aaron Fox, both, I believe, I know Trae Young, I feel like Fox, I had to check myself, but I thought Fox looked pretty good in that. We were able to see parts of the practices on the scrimmages. -via Apple Podcasts / August 8, 2023

Tim MacMahon: Well, I also heard at one point a question was presented to Trae Young something along the lines of ‘Are you ever going to go over a bleeping screen?’ -via Apple Podcasts / August 8, 2023