Shannon Sharpe absolutely unloaded on Rob Pelinka after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder, blaming the Lakers’ front office for wasting the final years of LeBron James’ championship window.
Speaking on Nightcap, Sharpe questioned nearly every major Lakers decision since LeBron arrived in 2018.
“What I don’t understand for the life of me. Joe, you remember when they were in the bubble? What did somebody say? What’s y’all game plan for Russell Westbrook? Let him shoot. The next year, what did they do? They go sign a guy they said they would let shoot. Make it make sense.”
“Now y’all done pissed me off. Let’s be all the way real. If Rob Pelinka was not Kobe Bryant’s agent, does he have that job? But y’all don’t want to talk about that. All you want to talk about is, well, LeBron James got his son on the team. LeBron handpicked this. Let’s have a real conversation. I got time today.”
“What about them picks? What about Jalen Hood-Schifino? He was your first-round pick a couple years ago. Where is he? You had defenders. You had JaVale McGee. You had Dwight Howard. You not paying them 30 million. You break it up just because.”
“Then you go get what? You think, we’ll be better if we have Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo’s a phenomenal player. A phenomenal offensive player. But Carmelo was old and couldn’t defend. Russ has never been known as a defender, and he couldn’t shoot.”
“LeBron wanted Tyronn Lue. The man won a championship and coached unbelievable. Nah, we gonna keep Luke Walton. Man, would you see what Luke did with the Golden State Warriors? I could have coached Golden State with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond, and Klay Thompson. Who the hell couldn’t coach them to a championship? How you look with the Lakers? How you look with the Sacramento Kings? Okay, so that’s what you wanted to do”
“But now you want to make all these things exactly how you want them. I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen. Luka is one of my favorite players. You’re not winning with a backcourt that’s defensively challenged. Name a time you won a championship like that. Think about it. What did they say when they played Luka Doncic? We want Luka to guard.”
“So we gonna put him in the pick and roll. As great as he is offensively, what happened in clutch situations? What happened with Austin Reaves last night? Every time they wanted a basket, whoever Austin or Luka was guarding, bring him to me. I need to see him. Y’all watch the game.”
“It’s going to be very interesting. You better get some guys that can defend whether LeBron is there or not. I’m ready for LeBron to leave. I really am. All they do is blame him. The last championship they won before LeBron got there was 2010. The next one was 2020 in the pandemic.”
“Once Kobe retired, and Kobe was hurt his last couple years shooting under 40 percent, nobody was even talking about the Lakers until LeBron went there. And you didn’t have to recruit him. He went on his own. I want him to leave, and I want to see how many championships y’all win. Think about the Miami Heat. The Heat had one championship, and what did they sell you before they won more? Heat culture.”
“You mean to tell me a team with 17 championships ain’t got no culture? Who they develop? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wasn’t there originally. Shaq, you didn’t draft Shaq. Magic says, I’m up out of here. The next year you lose Ty Lue, and then you go get Frank Vogel. Guess who his backcourt was? Two of the smartest people to ever play in the NBA, LeBron James and Rajon Rondo.”
“I just want to know what y’all gonna do. I’m anxious to see because I’m a Luka fan and I’m an Austin Reaves fan. Austin Reaves’ story should be a documentary. For a guy to come out as an undrafted free agent and average seven points, nine points, 13 points, then 19 points, 23 points, it should be studied. It shows what you can do when you put your mind to it and put the work in. Sometimes you’ve got to go to the right situation.”
“He spoke in glowing terms about how LeBron took him under his wing. He didn’t have to. But I’m gonna be watching. I’m gonna need to see some championships, Los Angeles Lakers fans. I need to see some championships in the next five years.”
Sharpe first brought up the disastrous Russell Westbrook trade, pointing out how teams openly ignored Westbrook defensively before Los Angeles still decided to acquire him anyway. Sharpe then questioned Rob Pelinka’s entire resume as an executive, even suggesting his connection to Kobe Bryant played a major role in him landing the job.
He criticized the team for letting key defenders like JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard leave after the 2020 championship run. Sharpe blasted the decision to replace defensive identity with aging offensive players like Carmelo Anthony. Despite the criticism, Sharpe praised Reaves heavily, calling his rise from undrafted player to borderline All-Star level talent one of the best development stories in basketball.
Sharpe also defended LeBron’s impact on the Lakers franchise, reminding fans that Los Angeles missed the playoffs repeatedly after Kobe’s decline before James arrived and delivered the franchise’s first title since 2010.
Meanwhile, Nick Wright floated what he believes would become the ultimate legacy move for James if he leaves Los Angeles this summer.
According to Wright, who spoke on First Things First, the perfect destination would be the New York Knicks.
“This is the ultimate athletic choose your own adventure. It depends on what LeBron James is going for. I think there are four viable options, and they all fill different buckets. I’m going to lay that out, then I’ll say what I want LeBron to do. I agree with Bruce. He obviously is going to, and should, do what he wants specifically.”
“But I’ll be selfish about what I want on it. The ultimate legacy play is to go to the New York Knicks and try to win a championship, assuming they don’t win the title this year. The difference between delivering them their first championship in more than 50 years versus joining them when they’re already champions is massive.”
“If they go to the Finals and lose, in almost any fashion other than maybe how the Indiana Pacers lost last year, Game 7 with an injury question around it, he can go there and be celebrated as the missing piece. If they were to win, it would be a fourth ring with a fourth team. I think they would have a real shot at it.”
“There’s also a very easy way to make that work financially. It would probably have to be a sign-and-trade for Mikal Bridges or a sign-and-trade for OG Anunoby. Both of those guys would fit with the Los Angeles Lakers. That’s the highest upside legacy play.”
Wright explained that delivering the Knicks their first championship in over 50 years would completely reshape LeBron’s legacy. He believes New York would instantly become a title favorite if James joined a roster already featuring Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The comments come at a critical moment for James.
After the Lakers’ second-round sweep, LeBron admitted he still does not know whether he will continue playing next season. At age 41 and after completing his historic 23rd NBA season, James said he plans to let his body, family, and close circle help determine his future.
Now the Lakers suddenly face massive questions. Can Pelinka rebuild a contender around Luka? Will LeBron return? Or could one of the greatest careers in sports history end somewhere completely unexpected like New York?
Right now, all possibilities appear on the table.
