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LeBron James is a master at manipulating the NBA system. That’s not meant to be a knock on him, but the Lakers star knows that he absolutely runs the league from a player standpoint, acting as an advocate and voice for other guys in the league. And, when James talks about what he wants, he usually gets his wish.
We’ve seen it before in previous years while LeBron James maneuvering ways to have the Cavs’ front office make extreme changes midseason, with the team trading players to refine their roster, and even fired former head coach David Blatt while the team was in first place in the Eastern Conference, all because LeBron put pressure on management to do so. He’s the definition of an alpha dog, and his every move has a ton of influence.
That’s why it’s funny how LeBron James backpedaled today while being asked about today’s NBA Trade Deadline, specifically telling MassLive’s John Karalis that he’s not pushing the Lakers to make a deal before this afternoon. Here’s what James had to say, per Karalis’ Twitter.
LeBron James on whether he's pushing the Lakers to make moves sooner rather than later: "There’s nothing I need to get in this league that I don’t already have. Everything else for me is just like icing on the cake… there’s nothing I’m chasing"
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) February 7, 2019
LeBron James, who shares an agent with Anthony Davis, knows that their representative, Rich Paul, is the one who publicly asked the New Orleans Pelicans for a trade. To think that James didn’t have a hand in any of that is pure ignorance. Of course Paul spoke behind closed doors with LeBron, and likely had James and Davis talk about the possibility during that dinner in L.A. after a Pels-Lakers game a couple months ago. So to hear James say “there’s nothing I’m chasing” is total BS.
Every single player and fan knows that, when you’ve got LeBron James on your team, you’re in win now mode. It’s why the Cavs traded former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins the same summer James returned to Cleveland in 2014 for Kevin Love. And, just like now, it’s why Anthony Davis has long-been rumored to join forces with him in LaLa Land. That doesn’t mean that the speculation doesn’t take a toll on James’ teammates, though, as Kurt Helin of NBC Sports pointed out — because young Lakers players now think LeBron wants them traded, which impacts their psyche.
What hurt the "Lakers chemistry" far, far more than anything the Pelicans' did was LeBron's agent — so seen by extension as LeBron — asking publicly for a trade, forcing Lakers to put all their youth in the package. Those players now think LeBron wants them traded.
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) February 7, 2019
LeBron James can say whatever he wants to about not needing something and how he’s not chasing things. But the truth is that the Lakers are 10th in the Western Conference, just got blown out by 42 points, seem to be as fragile as ever mentally and are in desperate need of something to rejuvenate them. Isn’t playing with LeBron James fun, guys?