LeBron doesn't want to waste a season but options for change are limited
The Lakers promised to deliver LeBron championship pieces. So far they're only delivering losses.
The team lost to the Clippers Wednesday, a game LeBron left in the fourth quarter with an adductor strain, to drop to 2-9. They're at a crossroads. According to Chris Haynes, the Lakers "made a promise to supply him with the necessary pieces to compete for a championship throughout the duration of his tenure." This team clearly doesn't have the pieces to compete for the play-in game, much less a championship.
Rob Pelinka said his job was to be "caretaker of LeBron’s legacy," but Pelinka's moves have been less than inspiring. After a disastrous 2021-22 season, Russell Westbrook is still on the team. Pelinka's biggest off-season acquisitions were Lonnie Walker IV (15.3 PPG, shooting under 30 percent from three-point range) and 34-year-old Patrick Beverley, who's not even shooting 30 percent from the floor. The Lakers have the league's worst offensive rating, the worst three-point percentage (29.3 percent) and they're 28th in rebounds.
Despite assuring LeBron they'd surround him with championship-caliber players, the Lakers have been reluctant to make moves. Three weeks ago, Adrian Wojnarowski reported they planned to wait until after Thanksgiving to shake up their roster.
Woj said that the Lakers were looking for teams "who don't start off well, who decide that they may start to look to unload players, and perhaps get involved in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes." However, no team has started off worse then the Lakers except the 2-10 Houston Rockets. And the Lakers can't get involved with the Wembanyama sweepstakes, because the Pelicans can switch picks with them.
They simply don't have much to trade. Westbrook's huge contract is expiring, but Haynes reports that trade talks are not at a serious stage. Rich Paul, the agent for James and Anthony Davis, says he hasn't received calls related to a possible AD trade. And the Lakers are still reluctant to trade their first-round picks in 2027 or 2029.
LeBron is trying to do it all for the Lakers, for now, and it may have led to an injury. The King doesn't want to "waste" one of his last seasons, but despite their preseason promises, but with options for change limited, the Lakers may do just that.
More must-reads: