The Los Angeles Lakers tried creating a superteam last season by trading for Russell Westbrook and pairing him up with the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The trade for Westbrook wasn’t cheap, and it cost the team several assets.
But most believed if the Los Angeles Lakers could win an NBA Championship with the new Big 3, it will all be worth it. Unfortunately, the trade backfired as Russell Westbrook failed to adjust to the team last season.
On top of that, many reports claimed that it was LeBron James and Anthony Davis who pushed the Lakers to acquire Russ. Fast forward to the 2022-23 NBA season, Westbrook has adjusted to his newfound role on the bench, but the Lakers are still terrible.
As a result, most fans want Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka to use their future first-round draft picks in order to get more help around LeBron James.
Kendrick Perkins Thinks Jeanie Buss And Rob Pelinka Are Punishing LeBron James
A couple of days ago, a report revealed that Jeanie Buss has directed the Lakers not to sell their future. It essentially means that Buss is picking the future of the organization over having a chance to win an NBA Championship this season with LeBron James, despite James being very frustrated with the franchise in recent weeks.
Keeping that in mind, former NBA player and current analyst Kendrick Perkins believes that Pelinka and Buss are punishing LeBron for pushing the team to trade for Russell Westbrook.
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It almost feels like Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss are punishing LeBron James for the Russell Westbrook trade! pic.twitter.com/TskTLNeHbq
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 20, 2023
“It almost feels like Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss are punishing LeBron James for the Russell Westbrook trade. Meaning, you played a huge part in getting Russell Westbrook here and we know we have these two draft picks, and we are not gonna trade them because you wanted him. You wanted him Bron. So now you have to deal with it. … Is it fair? No. Are we wasting his greatness and wasting his time for him being able to go and win championships? Yes.
Perkins also said that he honestly feels sorry for LeBron James. A couple of months ago, it was reported that James doesn’t like the feeling of being blamed for the Russell Westbrook trade.
Whether Pelinka and Buss are punishing James for that can only be answered by them. But one thing that seems almost certain is that the current Lakers team is not fit to compete for an NBA title this season.
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