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First, it was his agent, Rich Paul. Now, LeBron James has taken a shot at the Los Angeles Lakers that won’t sit well with the rest of his teammates or the organization.
Paul ruffled feathers back in December when he claimed that James and the Lakers weren’t truly title contenders and opened the door to a potential trade.
“I don’t think they have enough to get to the Western Conference Finals,” he said on the Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman. “I don’t think they have enough to really contend, from that perspective.”
Paul then made matters worse one month later when he suggested that the Lakers trade star guard Austin Reaves in order to become title contenders.
“If I was the Lakers, I would be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson,” he said “…This comes with a very unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved. He’s an underdog. Here’s the thing – there’s a world where you can do what’s best for your team and do what’s best for Austin because Austin deserves to get paid.”
James was quick to distance himself from those comments, although his relationship with Paul dates back to before he was even in the NBA.
Now, however, it appears the two are back on the same page.
LeBron James Says Lakers Aren’t NBA Title Contenders
Los Angeles lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-110, on their home court Monday night. And afterward, James made it clear that he wasn’t happy with the state of the team.
“You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there. We’re not,” James said. “We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can. That’s why they won a championship.”
The Lakers currently sit in fifth place in the Western Conference at 32-20. And with the NBA trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the team they have is as good as it’s going to get personnel-wise.
Now, that doesn’t mean it can’t improve. But Los Angeles is facing several of the same issues it did a year ago. And James is becoming more and more vocal in his displeasure. If things don’t change quickly, we could be looking at a major blow up in LA.