In the NBA, we know that there are times when superstars are asked about their opinions on a certain move that the franchise makes. Some superstars obviously have more influence on what a team ends up doing than others.
LeBron James has often been jokingly called “LeGM” by fans due to the perception that he has a lot of power to influence moves on any franchise that he’s on. That is no different for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Recently, LeBron James has praised Russell Westbrook, claiming that he “can’t wait” for the point guard to “go off” this upcoming season. An NBA fan pointed out that other players were traded by the Los Angeles Lakers after receiving compliments from LeBron James, dubbing his praise “the kiss of death”.
Kiss of death 🤣🤣 https://t.co/EDKhV3vdEj pic.twitter.com/kSANNHlu4q
— Ralph Mason (@Ralph_MasonJr) August 25, 2022
Of course, this could just end up being an absolute coincidence. It is quite likely that LeBron James is simply offering support to all of his teammates with this series of Tweets. With that being said, NBA insider Dave McMenamin stated that LeBron James has “no interest” in playing another year with Russell Westbrook as his teammate earlier in the summer.
It’s pretty darn clear that LeBron has seen enough and he has no interest going into another year with Russ as his teammate.
It definitely seems as though the writing is on the wall for a Russell Westbrook trade potentially happening, but the question of where is still wide open. The Los Angeles Lakers are unlikely to trade for Kyrie Irving anymore due to Kevin Durant staying with the Brooklyn Nets, but there are definitely other options out there that they could explore.
Hopefully, we see the Los Angeles Lakers do well next season, whether Russell Westbrook is present on the team or otherwise. It is clear that they are taking a different team-building approach this summer by focusing on their defense, and we’ll see if it pays off.
