After posting an hourglass emoji on X this week, LeBron James caused an uproar across the NBA as fans took it as a clear sign of his wavering patience. Speaking to the media ahead of the Lakers’ game against the Knicks, head coach Darvin Ham responded to the post and surprised many by actually doubling down on LeBron’s cryptic message.
“Darvin Ham says he understands LeBron James’ sense of urgency in Year 21 and that he would’ve put out “two or three” hourglass emoji tweets by this point if he were in LeBron’s shoes,” wrote Lakers inside Jovan Buha.
LeBron refused to elaborate on the meaning of his post when asked by the media on Saturday, and he admitted that he was “unsure” about his future with the Lakers after this season. By all accounts, LeBron isn’t pleased with the way things are moving right now and it’s hard to blame him considering how difficult things have been since the 2020 title. This season was supposed to be a redemption period for the Lakers, but they are facing more questions than answers right now as James continues to feed the narratives.
The Lakers Are Not Championship Contenders This Season
This season has not gone according to plan for the Los Angeles Lakers, and LeBron is obviously very frustrated with how it’s playing out. Despite bringing back much of the core that made a run to the Western Conference Finals last year, the Lakers are pretty much in the same spot they were back then when they had to fight and claw for the 7th seed in the West. Currently, at just 25-25 through the first 50 games, the Lakers are down to 9th in the West and are clearly several tiers below the top-level contenders that include the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and the Boston Celtics.
Despite his advanced age and the ridiculous miles on his body, LeBron is averaging 24.9 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.5 rebounds per game on 52.0% shooting and he is not the one to blame for the Lakers’ record. Instead fans and critics are pointing the finger at coach Darvin Ham, who has made a number of questionable decisions this season. GM Rob Pelinka is also on the hot seat in Lakers Nation for his failure to build a proper supporting cast around the two superstars.
LeBron James Trade Rumors Are Going Viral In Los Angeles
James has never asked for a trade during his illustrious 20-year career, and Rich Paul confirmed that he’s not going to get moved today or anytime before the trade deadline next week. Still, it didn’t stop the news from going viral when it was reported that James was at “the top” of his team’s trade list. As a 39-year-old living legend who can still play at an All-NBA level, LeBron’s potential availability in trade talks would have made things really interesting as multiple teams would have pursued the 4x champion.
Fortunately for the Lakers, he’s still under contract for this season and he could still return for another season by opting into the final year of his deal and running it back with the squad. But for the Lakers to become true title contenders again, they’ll need to do more than bring back LeBron James. They will need to make some serious roster changes and prove to LeBron that they are still committed to winning.
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