He carried this country to gold.
But I may not be able to do it. The Lakers To the playoffs?
He was the leader of the team that beat the best in the world.
But maybe he can’t lead the Lakers to beat the Memphis Grizzlies?
The dilemma we face LeBron James and the team that can’t bring him a championship was made abundantly clear this summer when one of the brightest moments of James’ career only had Los Angeles sighing.
What greatness! What a waste!
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What a gift! What a waste!
The rest of the world marveled as James, 39, led Team USA to a fifth consecutive gold medal in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Meanwhile, his city just shuddered and wondered: why can’t he do this for us?
The rest of the world had rarely seen anything like it: James earned Olympic MVP honors by unleashing his incredible, age-proof skills during six stunning victories, leading the team in minutes, rebounds and assists.
Meanwhile, his city cringed and thought, “Yes, we’ve seen these kinds of huge explosions of power before, but it wears out without help. Where’s the help?”
During a summer when The Dodgers were gearing up for another deep playoff run, the Lakers once again stole the headlines as they set themselves up for even greater embarrassment.
If they can’t compete for a title in what are likely the final two seasons of James’ storied career, then his time here has represented the biggest wasted opportunity in Los Angeles sports history.
Worse that the Kings failed to win a Stanley Cup with Wayne Gretzky. Worse that the Clippers destroyed Lob City. Worse that USC failed to play for a national title with Caleb Williams. And, yes, even worse that the Dodgers won those 10 division championships with only one short-season title to show for it.
This would be a failure of LeBron-sized proportions, having the greatest player in history wearing one of the most winning uniforms in history during some of the greatest moments of his personal history…and never winning a full-season championship.
Yes, they won the bubble title with him in 2020, but as the years have gone by, that bubble has increasingly burst in the face of the reality that it was an abnormal, abbreviated schedule that perfectly favored an aging star like LeBron. It was all admirable, but some of it doesn’t feel real.
The hard truth is, since LeBron showed up six seasons ago, they’ve only been to that short-season NBA Finals, just two Western Conference Finals and a bunch of full summers.
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That’s why this space has repeatedly called for James to be traded, so they can end his suffocating hold on the organization and allow them to breathe again, rebuild again, win again.
Of course, that’s not happening. That was made clear this summer when James had yet another opportunity to ask to leave or quit and did neither, signing a two-year deal with $101 million guaranteed that will likely carry him through the end of his career here.
Even the most devoted LeBron skeptics must finally admit that he’s not going away.
This means the Lakers should do everything they can to make his stay worthwhile.
Do it quickly. Do it definitively. Don’t do it for him (he has four rings), but for yourself, for your story, for your legacy.
Rob Pelinka, this space promises not to criticize you for any sudden changes you make in your attempt to salvage LeBron’s final years.
You want to trade fan-favorite Austin Reaves? Go ahead. You want to trade embattled D’Angelo Russell? Do it. Rui Hachimura? Gone. Jarred Vanderbilt? Gone.
Two future first-round picks in the 2029 and 2031 drafts? Check and go.
Anthony Davis? Well, okay, not Anthony Davis, at least not right now. He’s obviously the second piece of the Lakers’ Big Three, a trio necessary to compete for a championship, a triumvirate that’s missing one player.
Find that player, but don’t sacrifice Davis, who also had a memorable Olympics, leading the team with James early on and creating a humiliating narrative.
Two Lakers starred in capturing a gold medal, but their actual team might not even be able to steal a play-in game?
It’s not that Pelinka hasn’t tried. He just needs to try harder. After a failed summer in which the only acquisitions were a mediocre guard-defender, a baby Nepo and a head coach who has never coached, he needs to do better.
Pelinka set the organization back when he shattered the heart of the 2020 championship team by trading or losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso and Kyle Kuzma.
He set it back even further when he listened to LeBron and acquired Russell Westbrook.
He appeared to have saved himself two seasons ago when he took the Lakers out of Westbrook and added key pieces that led the team to the Western Conference finals.
But those pieces (Hachimura, Russell, Vanderbilt) struggled to produce a repeat last season as Lakers fans groused about the young star who should have been here.
Yes, Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s absence from the draft also counts against Pelinka.
You see where this is going, right?
LeBron carried Team USA. Now Pelinka has to carry LeBron.
It’s going to be difficult because nobody likes to negotiate with the Lakers and apparently nobody wants to play for the Lakers.
How the hell? Klay Thompson Did he turn down more money and a return home to sign with the Dallas Mavericks instead? That’s because he didn’t believe these Lakers could win. Honestly, no one believes these Lakers can win.
Every preseason poll has them near the bottom of the West and unable to even make the play-in tournament. And, look, every preseason prognosticator will point to LeBron’s brilliant Olympics and come to the same conclusion.
What a shame. What a loss. What are the Lakers doing?
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
