LeBron James is one of the greatest players to ever live, and he isn’t not enjoying the end of his career that he would have liked. After signing with the Lakers and giving the team multiple contract extensions, LeBron has clearly indicated a desire to end his career with the Lakers. The problem is that the Lakers can no longer build a title-winning roster around LBJ.
Former Cavaliers’ teammates with LeBron, Channing Frye, commented on the Lakers and said that the team needs to be completely restructured around LeBron if the team wants a chance at the Finals again. He also has suggested trading Anthony Davis away, despite his potential to be the singular star of a team.
“If you give (LeBron) a chance, he will take you to the Finals”
Channing Frye isn’t giving up on the Lakers yet@TermineRadio | @Jumpshot8 | @channingfrye | @NBA pic.twitter.com/fVQsv5TVFi
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) November 13, 2022
“They need to take a real look at their pride and ego and say, ‘everybody but LeBron needs to be on that phone like what can I get for this’? If you give him a chance, he will take you to the Finals. If you surround him with great players, shooting, and guys who wanna embrace their role, he can do it. We’ve been waiting 3 or 4 years for someone to take the reins from him, so maybe you break somebody in that has the youthful energy, who’s hungry, not to be famous, but to be great. There’s a big difference. There are guys who can score 20 in the regular season and disappear in the playoffs, they’re famous but they’re not great. Surround guys around LeBron and he’s going to show you, he’s done that.”
LeBron is not the same player he was even 5 years ago, so it’s not easy definitively saying that LeBron can carry a better roster to the playoffs, especially in one of the toughest ages of the league with parity spread across the league.
Can The Lakers Actually Salvage Their Season?
If the team is not willing to make trades, there is nothing that the Lakers can do. However, if they’re willing to part with their draft assets, the team could get a sizeable upgrade both at the center and on the wing with Myles Turner and Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers. If not them, even the San Antonio Spurs have solid pieces in stretch-big Doug McDermott, Josh Richardson, and possibly Jakob Poeltl.
These moves would make the Lakers more competitive, but they were unlikely to move the needle enough to make them a contender. Hopefully, they can make something happen even if they don’t trade Russell Westbrook away.
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