Basketball superstar LeBron James is reportedly disenchanted with the Los Angeles Lakers front office and is ready to bolt the marquee franchise in the very near future.
James and the Lakers are comparable to “the early days of war,” The Athletic reports. James and Rich Paul are reportedly applying pressure on the organization. The adversarial relationship reportedly emanates from James’ desire to make moves before the trading deadline to improve the team. The Lakers currently sit ninth place in the Western Conference with a dismal 27-31 record. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka failed to make any trades, irking James significantly and has him with one foot out the door.
The report also says the Lakers “want to do everything possible to keep James, but if that means pushing Pelinka — Kobe Bryant’s former agent — out of his job, then it’s not clear whether that would be a step too far.”
During the All-Star Weekend press conference, LeBron shaded Pelinka when he went great lengths to compliment the Lakers’ rival general manager Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder: “The MVP over there is Sam Presti. He the MVP. Josh Giddey is great. Sam Presti, I don’t understand, his eye for talent. He drafted K.D., Russ, Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Josh Giddey and the list goes on and on and on. This guy is pretty damn good.”
King James, 37, is owed $44.5 million next season from the Lakers. The New York Post post reports that “he would have to sign a one-year deal for 2023-24 before being able to enact his plan to play with his son” Bronny James.
