LeBron James to @TheAthletic on the Lakers’ roster plans: “Y’all know what the f*** should be happening.”
> In his most extensive comments yet on the Lakers’ lack of upgrades — and more specifically the reluctance to trade the 2027 and 2029 first-round picks that some team officials believe would be better used to chase another star player this summer — James made it clear that his patience is waning.
[source](https://theathletic.com/4068034/2023/01/08/lebron-james-lakers-trades-frustration/?source=user_shared_article)
by ttam23
31 Comments
Maybe shouldn’t have signed that extension then.
Edit: /s implied. Christ you salty fucks
Patiently waiting for some breaking news in the free agency
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Ok So I do agree that maybe they should think about making a small scale move. Maybe bring in a Bogdanovic from the Pistons, or a Vanvleet from Raptors.
But like, Bron is comfortably top 8 player still, AD before Injury was playing at top 5 & DPOY level, Thomas Bryant is breaking out as a great center option for them, so much so that I think AD can even go back to the 4 when he returns, Russ is clearly being quite productive in his bench role. Schroder is being a pest on defence and now scoring well too. Wenyan Gabriel, Troy Brown Jr. All are decent pieces.
And that’s considering Lonnie Walker, Reaves & AD are all injured.
You’re clearly staying afloat, you’re barely 2 games back of the 5 seed, what’s the rush here?
Imo, Lakers should make like one trade and get Bogdanovic, then try and make a run. If you reach Contendor levels then great, if not think about bigger moves in offseason once the Russ money comes off the books. Like seriously, what’s the rush?
He wants the 33 year old Bojan “European Carmelo” Bogdanovic.
We need Russ’s playmaking right now, unless there’s a trade that gets us back someone who can do something similar.
To me Bev, Nunn, and Walker are the more realistic trade pieces, preferably paired with 2nd round picks, not 1st round picks. Target versatile wings, if there’s any available.
Does Lakers still want to trade Russ, he leads the bench and is a big part of the winning streak now.
LeDirectShot
LeBron is the reason why the roster is shit.
He lobby to trade for AD, who signed a 5 year / $189,903,600 contract.
Then he lobbied the Front Office to trade for Westbook, who carries $40m average of the two seasons. (2021-2022 to 2022-2023).
Then you have LeBron’s contract, who is making $46M this season AND a $50M player option next season. Which he will 100% exercise.
If you look at next season. The Lakers will have 5 players not going into FA and their cap space is already limited because of those 5 players, $91M is already tied up.
They aren’t going to have much flexibility going into FA next season either. They have no bench to keep them in the game.
The Lakers fucked themselves over listening to LeBron and tying up so much of the cap space in old aging players. They had a good roster to build off front when they won the 2020 NBA championship.
This is not the way to lead a team fighting for a spot in the playoffs.. I can understand his frustration, but when on a 5 game win streak dissing the whole locker room and FO is not going to help. Especially when Lebron pressured hard for the Westbrook trade in the first place..
He’s not wrong 100
He’s right, the guy who wanted to bring in Westbrook should take the blame.
They aren’t winning a ring with the roster as is, even with whatever those two picks can get them. I feel like the FO is right to hold their ground here
I don’t think he’s ever been this direct about the roster needing work. He’s putting serious pressure on the front office
“OH MAN IF IT ISNT THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ACTIONS!”
Curious if Lakers fans would be ok trading a pick/picks for any of our guys. Even if it meant Wood plus a shooter or whatever.
Sabonis was called for a foul on that play that’s in the thumbnail. Just thought I’d share that.
He forces teams to do these win-now moves and then acts mad when they don’t equate to long-term success. If he could’ve just waited like 2-3 seasons after joining the Lakers instead of demanding AD and eventually Westbrook he would be in a really good situation right now
Who the fuck is available this summer that’s gonna be able to net you a decisive superstar? The free agent market is boring this year. I think other than Kyrie, Kris Middleton and Jeremi Grant are the headliners. Do you really want Kyrie Irving that badly? What happens when you swing and miss like with Kawhi? Or when you went all in for Damian Lillard who never wanted to leave Portland? Take the shot now you goddamn morons.
Lakers should trade AD for someone that can actually be on the floor and also for draft capital. That’s really their only play here.
Still a bit shocked he signed the extension which removed his flexibility.
It’s not like AD being hurt wasn’t a likely outcome – the kid has a history of being unable to stay healthy. Without a healthy AD, the ceiling on this team is so much lower and it doesn’t take an expert to recognize that.
good pelinka and jeanie been ass cheeks
I just find this so funny because it’s his fault. All they had to do was give up a lot less for Hield, and they still would be contenders. Instead, he pressured the FO to give away their entire core for a washed Westbrook. Now he sits and bitches about how it’s their fault
LeBron is right. The Lakers desperately need more scoring and playmaking. There’s only one move left to make: trade for Lakers Legend D’Angelo Russell
Ironically, I don’t know what he means by this. It appears I don’t know what the F should be happening.
FVV lakers?
Beastbrook max re-sign. We all know it 😤😤😤
LeBron’s problem is that he has to go all out in the regular season to drag this team to 0.500. He might not have much left in the tank for the playoffs.
I get the whole “LeBron built the team” narrative but rob pelinka/Jeanie buss and co have done quite possibly the worst job at building a roster around a certain player that I have ever seen
Yes, we all know what is happening. The Lakers are suffering from LeBron’s bad decision making.
Nah let him cook