Getty LeBron James with Russell Westbrook.
It’s easy to be happy with a team when you’re winning. After the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in 2020, LeBron James seemed like the happiest man on the planet. He even made it clear that he wanted to spend the rest of his career with the team. Los Angeles is the perfect place for him to be considering his business and movie interests.
The honeymoon phase has ended and now the marriage between the two sides is starting to show serious cracks. During the recent All-Star Weekend, LeBron took every chance he could to open up the door for him to leave the Lakers. Whether it was him hinting at a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, praising Oklahoma City City Thunder general manager Sam Presti or definitively stating that he’ll spend his last year in the league playing with his son, the superstar wasn’t exactly subtle.
The Lakers have given him almost everything he’s wanted so why sour on them now? It appears that this season’s trade deadline was a tipping point. Dave McMenamin of ESPN has reported that vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka did not consult with LeBron and fellow superstar Anthony Davis during the trade deadline despite him clearly stating that he did. It doesn’t stop there. According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, LeBron and his agency Klutch Sports wanted the team to trade Russell Westbrook for John Wall.
The fact that the Lakers didn’t apparently didn’t sit well with the superstar and Pelinka misleading the media certainly didn’t help things. However, LeBron was the one who pushed the team to trade for Westbrook in the first place. Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless called out LeBron for pushing for the offseason trade and then getting mad at the team down the road.
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Bayless Makes a Good Point
Bayless is perhaps the most notable LeBron hater in all of media but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of making a good point. In this case, he’s not totally wrong in his assessment of the situation. LeBron was a key contributor to the Lakers trading for Westbrook. Had it not been for him, the former MVP likely never ends up back in Los Angeles.
The Lakers traded away many strong assets and a lot of future flexibility by making the deal. It’s not totally fair for LeBron to get mad at the team for not mortgaging its future to fix his error in judgment.
Could This Get Ugly?
When LeBron isn’t happy, he’s not shy. He’s not afraid to throw a fit if that’s what he has to do to get his way. It’s a big reason why he’s had sustained success for so long. He’s under contract through next season so there’s not much he can do right now. He’s also 37-years-old and it’s unknown how good he’ll be two seasons from now.
While it would be risky to alienate Klutch Sports as they represent a lot of top players, the Lakers don’t need to be held hostage by LeBron. They are one of the most valuable franchises in sports and Los Angeles remains an appealing city for star players. Irking LeBron could hurt the team in the short team but it shouldn’t affect them much long term.
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