LeBron James Agent Sets the Record Straight on Disgruntled Reports

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, on March 31st, Pelinka entered the Lakers locker room with the game ball.

The Lakers had defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers minutes before. Pelinka gave the basketball to JJ Redick for his 100th win as a coach, and not LeBron.

The Lakers forward had become the winningest player in NBA history with 1229th career wins, regular season and playoff combined. According to Paul, James had too many accolades to overthink about ‌a ball.

According to the ESPN reporter, LeBron saw yet another instance of the Lakers’ shifting priority and the organization taking him for granted. He didn’t even change and left the locker room.

While Paul remains the closest to James, he also doesn’t seem to have a confirmed understanding of what James felt in the locker room in March.

Now that he is an unrestricted free agent, a lot of his future in LA will be decided by how he truly feels about being a Laker and the organization.

Brian Windhorst Highlights the Lakers’ Conundrum About LeBron James

Just days before the playoffs started, the Lakers lost their top two options.

James, who had accepted his role as the third option, and for the first time in his career, had to switch back to being the No. 1 option. He didn’t disappoint. He led the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in the first round. 

But now his future looks uncertain. According to Brian Windhorst, irrespective of what the Lakers feel, they needed a player of LeBron’s caliber. 

“The Lakers have a problem,” Windhorst said. “They don’t want to lose LeBron James, and they don’t want to lose his 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game. But they don’t want to pay $50 million for him. Because the rest of the league isn’t going to come bidding $50 million [to get LeBron].”

The kind of dedication and elite career LeBron has had, and on top of the attention and profit he brings to an organization, it’s hard for him to accept that he is worth less than that.

“The concept that he’s just not as good anymore and that maybe he’s only worth $30 million instead of $50 million. [But] LeBron James doesn’t believe in that. I don’t expect him to accept that. And I’ll tell you one thing: If you’re the Lakers and you force LeBron to leave, he’ll go somewhere else and play for less money,” Windhorst added.

LeBron is still not sure about returning for the 24th season. If he does, there is no telling if he would return as a Laker.