Far from being among the best teams in the West, the Lakers have no right to miss out on the upcoming playoffs. Behind the scenes, it is also said that LeBron James did not really like his front office’s strategy.
Due in particular to injuries, the Lakers did not have a great first part of the season. Darvin Ham’s men showed good things in certain matches, but it was above all their irregularity which got the fans talking.
Capable of the best and the worst, LeBron James and his teammates will have to raise the level if they want to win the championship.
This is all the more important as James is slowly approaching retirement. He will celebrate his 40th birthday at the end of the year and even with his cyborg status, he will not be forever in the NBA.
This is why he wants to have a chance to play for the title every season, as well as a certain aggressiveness from his front office in the market. It is clear that this was not the case at the deadline.
LeBron James unhappy with his front office?
Although the Purple and Gold signed Spencer Dinwiddie this Saturday, it is not necessarily this arrival that will shake up the existing hierarchy in the West. Behind the scenes, James did not like Rob Pelinka’s wait-and-see approach according to journalist Jovan Buha.
It must be said that the Akron native has little interest in a 2029 draft pick.
Jovan Buha on LeBron James : “I think there’s a certain level of frustration because for LeBron, he doesn’t care at all about a first round draft in 2029. For him, it’s important to maximize every season. Even if the roster only improves by 1%, that’s what he wants. This is how he sees things, he wanted the Lakers to try a move on the market. »
“He will be 40 at the end of the year. This will be his 22nd year in the league, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be healthy next year. No assurance that Anthony Davis will be healthy next year. The Lakers took a calculated gamble here. Given his comments in recent weeks, it is clear that LeBron wanted his leaders to try something. »
Except that because of a price that was too high to recruit, and a possible “Lakers tax” on the market , Pelinka and his staff decided not to lift a finger. A significant risk for this second part of the season and the future of James, who will possibly be a free agent this summer.
Regardless of the price, LeBron James wanted his leaders to try something on the market, for one of his last seasons in the league. Perhaps the arrival of Spencer Dinwiddie reassures him, but the King did not hide a certain frustration in front of the media.
