Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
The first true all-time NBA great to do all his legendary work in the 21st century, LeBron James, is playing some of his best basketball in his 20th season. James is doing things for the Los Angeles Lakers that literally no one has done in the twilight of their career before. And yet, LeBron’s squad is currently on the outside looking in of the play-in tournament of the Western Conference playoff picture.
Another year, another chance that arguably the greatest basketball player in the history of the NBA won’t make the playoffs. And it’s closer to the end of LeBron’s remarkable run than the beginning. Time is running out.
LeBron is feeling the urgency, while denying being frustrated. But are the Lakers planning on heeding the call of the moment?
Or are they, too, frustrated with their current circumstances?
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Almost everywhere LeBron James has been in his epic journey through the NBA, he has had some level of control over what the organization did while he was in their employment. With the exception of the Miami Heat – where he was simply a MVP-level player, not a varying player/GM/coach hybrid – James dictated to some extent what players made the roster. Who stayed. Who went. Who got traded, and who they got traded for.
Nowhere is that more true than Los Angeles, where the Klutch Sports influence (the sports agency run by James’ ally Rich Paul) is noticeable. From Marc Gasol being shunned for DeAndre Jordan (a Klutch client) despite Gasol clearly being a better fit for the Lakers to the Anthony Davis saga in New Orleans, LeBron’s fingerprints are all over what L.A. has become. Even Russell Westbrook coming to the Lakers is seen as a LeBron thought exercise put in to motion in reality.
In the Bubble? It was all worth it. LeBron and Davis did what they came to town to do, and they won a title. But since then, things have spiraled out of control. Rob Pelinka, the Lakers GM, and others have been unable to be in step with James’ wishes – or perhaps have been too accommodating. Maybe LeBron is TOO in the weeds with L.A.’s issues.
But how do you save the situation? How do you make the Lakers whole? For all the issues, they’re just two or so games away from being in the playoffs, much less the play-in. It’s not too far gone – in large part because of the efforts of James on the floor. But has his influence off the court soured the front office on doing the obvious and bringing in help for LeBron to make one more run at a title?
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During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union were at a much more significant crossroads. One country makes one wrong decision, and millions of lives could be lost in nuclear winter. This standoff was characterized by the concept of “mutually assured destruction” – if one started the fight, both would finish it and be far worse off for it. That fear of oblivion help stave off disaster.
But in this less consequential circumstance, both LeBron and the Lakers could still end one another’s chances at seeing a championship future.
From the Lakers perspective, it could come WITHOUT making a trade. Because when LeBron James – a pass-first player that is about to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer – is on your team, taking a stand and saying “no – not at the expense of our future” is a fool’s errand. There is no future. There’s only now – LeBron James is producing at a historic level. Get him help.
Now.
But the issue with this is that they’ve already been burned by these sorts of decisions. Whether it’s because Pelinka is incompetent (possible), LeBron’s own inability to do one job (also possible), or some combination of the two (probable), roster choices the last two years have been rocky at best. Should they really make the choice to allow a LeBron-led era to move off a draft pick that will come four or six years from now – when James will almost certainly no longer be a Laker?
That inability to trust that decision could end the LeBron-Lakers era with a whimper.
On LeBron’s side, a player who has excelled at public perception for much of his NBA career could make things tougher on himself than they need to be. His recent interview with The Athletic makes things seem less ideal than they are, and reality can be muddied when emotion shines through – be it intentionally or unintentionally. While it’s unlikely LeBron could do anything to get himself traded (even if he really wanted to be…) he could further any rift and make it less likely L.A brings in help for this current Lakers group.
Myles Turner. Buddy Hield. Eric Gordon. Even Bradley Beal. From possibilities to pipe dreams, they all could be for not if the Lakers do not think LeBron James is bought in to the pieces already in place. Why mortgage your future for someone whose presence in your present is productive, but not leading to the results you seek?
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Without a healthy Anthony Davis (which has in and of itself become more of a rarity) it’s all for naught. AD was the Lakers’ best player when he was playing, not James, and those two are the ceiling for any title prospects. No one better than them is coming in for any trade that is possible. But the truth lies in the fact that LeBron James chose the Lakers for non-basketball reasons. It’s a historically great franchise, in a beautiful and significant part of the country. His family is surely thrilled, and his business ventures have flourished. But having it all is really, really hard to do – even for the great LeBron James.
The Lakers are victims of their own created circumstances. They’ve allowed LeBron to dictate so much of how this story has gone. Now, they’re staring down James in a game of chicken, knowing how this all will end.
They will cave. And bring in help, sacrificing what will be for what is.
Because when dealing with mutually assured destruction, ensuring things don’t end now means while it all may come crashing down tomorrow, at least there will BE a tomorrow.
As opposed to the alternative – imploding what could be the last great run of LeBron James.