Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is a man of excellence and demands excellence from the front office to provide a capable roster around him that can win a championship.
Since signing with the Lakers in 2018, it has been a revolving door from year to year trying to find the right group of guys to bring home titles. However, there have been tumultuous moments throughout James’ tenure as there have been down seasons, which resulted in missing the playoffs or an early playoff exit.
This season is not an exception as the Lakers’ play has been erratic and inconsistent, which warranted some potential moves at the trade deadline on Feb. 8. But Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka ultimately decided on making no moves, creating speculation on if this would upset James and increase the chances of him leaving L.A. this summer.
Former Lakers champion Metta World Peace weighed in on the situation and does not see the four-time champion leaving the Lakers after this summer, via FanDuel TV’s Run It Back:
“As of right now, I think yeah. I think LeBron retires a Laker. I do Spectrum, I do Lakers TV, so I do a lot of stuff with the Lakers and I definitely would like to see him retire as a Laker. Obviously crazier things have happened. But I can’t see him not retiring a Laker because he’s brought a championship here, he brought them back in contention. Remember the years after we won it in 2010, we had like down years after that. We didn’t even go to the playoffs or anything. So whatever you want to say about LeBron, they’re getting into the playoffs, they’re not getting to the big game, but they’re getting to the playoffs and they’re competitive every year. You got to prepare for the Lakers, you can’t just go into a game and not prepare for the Lakers now. So I think LeBron loves L.A. The weather is great and he’s one player away. He’s one player away from playing well because he’s still playing at a high level. So I can’t see him leaving.”
James came to L.A. for the final stop of his career and to be close with his family but still wants to win at a high level. While he is defying Father Time, his years are limited and with a $51.4 million player option, the 39-year-old holds a lot of power when it comes to deciding his future.
Thankfully, James has spoken publicly about wanting to remain with the Lakers and World Peace believes he will maintain that stance until he retires. While James is giving reassurance, Pelinka should not relax and continue to improve the roster while he is wearing a purple and gold jersey.
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