Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

LeBron James takes a swipe at Lakers front office

By Sai Mohan | Last updated May 1, 2025 10:45 AM ET

In late January, Anthony Davis implored the Lakers front office to get him a center, explaining why he was more suited to playing power forward.

Less than 10 days later, the Lakers traded Davis for Luka Doncic.

The Lakers were justified in trading Davis for a generational talent six years younger than him. However, many eyebrows were raised when Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said Davis was "complaining about where he was being played and he wasn't happy" with his role.

Buss essentially gave credence to the notion that Davis' complaining got him shipped out of town.

LeBron James isn't willing to make the same mistake.

After crashing out of the playoffs on Wednesday, James was asked if the Lakers erred by leaning too much into a center-less philosophy, which also led to him playing out of position.

"My guy AD said what he needed, and then he was gone the following week," James laughed. "So, I got no comment. I put that uniform on every night, gave everything I had, and that's all that matters."

I asked LeBron if the Lakers’ center-less play style eventually caught up to them in this series. His response, in a joking tone: “No comment. … My guy (Anthony Davis) said what he needed, and he was gone the following week.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) May 1, 2025

In fairness to the Lakers, they tried to trade for shot-blocking big Mark Williams but were forced to rescind the deal. Yet, it's rather telling that James referenced Davis' comments about the Lakers' lack of size.

James, who has a $52.6M player option for the 2025-26 season, is reportedly open to the idea of opting out and signing a more team-friendly deal to help the Lakers make some roster upgrades. It was crystal clear during their loss to the Timberwolves that they desperately need size, both in the interior and on the perimeter, if they wish to compete with the more athletic teams in the conference.

The 40-year-old James has yet to commit to next season, but is widely expected to return for at least the 2025-26 campaign.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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