NBA analysts explained why LeBron James thinks he shouldn’t be frustrated with the La Lakers.
According to Clutch Point, James has been increasingly irritated by the Lakers’ lack of direction since his trade with Russell Westbrook. His frustration at their lack of urgency led to reports that he was willing to leave the Lakers in search of his fifth NBA title.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have lost patience with James about what they call “constant passive offensive jabs.” This NBA expert believes there may be some points.
NBA analyst Chris Brussard explained why James doesn’t think he has the right to be frustrated with the Lakers.
Speaking first about the first thing about FS1, he said: “The Lakers have certainly made some mistakes since the Westbrook deal, but overall I don’t think they should be frustrated. They’re not as frustrating as Steph (Curry) or Giannis (Antetocompo).”
Curry’s Golden State Warriors have been in a quiet offseason and are the only team in the NBA that have not signed or re-signed this offseason. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo is unhappy with the recent roster moves of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brussard continued, “He had Anthony Davis, he now has Luca Donsic. And I got it, Rob Perinka didn’t move the heavens and the earth to get Luka, but you still got Luca Donsic.
“Louis Hachimura, you can do much worse than him. Austin Reeves was undrafted. They found Austin Reeves and gave him a chance as an undrafted free agent, and are now a 20-point scorer.
The Lakers’ roster hole was central, but they tried to solve the problem by trading with Mark Williams. He failed his medical care and was sent back to the Charlotte Hornets. The Lakers then signed DeAndre Ayton. DeAndre Ayton is by no means a perfect player, but he offers talent in five spots.
You’re always in the competition as James and Doncic are on your roster and surrounded by trusted role players.
The Lakers have crashed painfully from the postseason early in the last two seasons. They lost in the first round to Nicola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets and Anthony Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves.
Early in his career, James was able to lead a team that lacked talent into a deep final running. The most notable are 2007 and 2018. At 40, he can no longer do it.
He said, “I feel like LeBron has gone from ‘everyone can win’ to ‘we need a perfect team’. There’s no perfect team.
Building the Lakers’ roster wasn’t the main reason for the early playoff exits last season. James was particularly great when it came to defense, but at the age of 40 he couldn’t control him for 48 minutes like he used to.
Their biggest problem: Doncic didn’t play. He shot 45.2%, 3-34.8% from the field, but in reality he never looked right in purple and gold last year. If the Slovenian star returns to his brilliant best this season, Brussard may be right. The Lakers have what they need.