NBA expert says LeBron James should not be frustrated with LA Lakers, ‘No more frustrated than…’

The Lakers, meanwhile, are losing patience with James over what was described as “incessant passive-aggressive jabs”. This NBA expert thinks they may have a point.

LeBron James should not be frustrated with the LA Lakers, ‘You got Luka Doncic’

NBA analyst Chris Broussard has explained why he thinks James has no right to be frustrated with the Lakers.

Speaking on FS1’s First Things First, he said, “The Lakers have certainly made some mistakes since the Westbrook trade, they haven’t been perfect, but overall I don’t think he should be frustrated. No more frustrated than Steph [Curry] or Giannis [Antetokounmpo].”

Curry’s Golden State Warriors have had a quiet offseason and are the only team in the NBA to have not made a single signing or re-signing this offseason. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo has been unhappy with the Milwaukee Bucks’ recent roster moves. 

Broussard continued, “He had Anthony Davis, he now has Luka Doncic. And I get it, Rob Pelinka didn’t move heaven and earth to get Luka, but still, you got Luka Doncic.

“Rui Hachimura, you could do a lot worse than him. Austin Reeves was undrafted. They found Austin Reeves, gave him a chance as an undrafted free agent, and now he’s a 20 point scorer. And they were one of a handful of teams to have three 20-point scorers last season.”

The hole in the Lakers’ roster was center, but they did attempt to resolve that issue by trading for Mark Williams. He failed his medical and was sent back to the Charlotte Hornets. Then, the Lakers signed DeAndre Ayton, who is by no means a perfect player but does provide some talent at the five spot.

With James and Doncic on your roster, surrounded by reliable role players, you are always a contender.

LeBron James can no longer win with anybody, says Chris Broussard

The Lakers have crashed out of the postseason painfully early in the last two seasons. They lost to Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets and Anthony Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.

Early in his career, James was able to lead teams lacking talent to deep finals runs, most notably in 2007 and 2018. At the age of 40, he can no longer do that, which is what Broussard attributes to his unhappiness.

He said, “I feel like LeBron has gone from ‘I can win with anybody’ to ‘I need the perfect team.’ Nobody has the perfect team. That’s why your superstars need to get you over the hump sometimes when you don’t have the perfect team.”

The Lakers’ roster construction was not the primary reason for their early playoff exit last season. James was great, especially on defense, but at 40 years old he isn’t able to dominate for 48 minutes like he used to.

Their biggest issue: Doncic didn’t perform. He shot 45.2% from the field and 34.8% from three, and in truth, never looked right in purple and gold last year. If the Slovenian star returns to his brilliant best this season, Broussard may be right. The Lakers have what they need.