LeBron James might have thought winning a title for Cleveland with the Golden State Warriors standing in his way was the biggest challenge in his storied NBA career.
But it wasn’t. What he’s facing now in Los Angeles — from the chaos in the front office to what the roster will be by the end of the summer — is.
The latest problem for the Lakers popped up when it seemed certain the franchise would hire Ty Lue as their next head coach, giving James a coach who knew how to handle the superstar and win with him. But that fell apart when reports said ex-Lakers forward Kurt Rambis and his wife helped squash the hiring:
That shows you the utter disarray in La La Land’s front office. It started with the botched Anthony Davis trade and continued with Magic Johnson shocking everyone by resigning as team president. And now the Rambis family has reportedly talked ownership out of hiring a coach who would be a good fit with the best player in basketball? Or it fell apart because of this?
Really!?
That’s only part of what James faces. He now has to go into the summer behind the 8-ball with free agents — he has to convince stars that what happened in the last calendar year isn’t indicative of what they’ll have to deal with going forward. The sales pitch is “You get to play with The King and contend,” along with some version of “winning cures everything,” which helps. It’s worth pointing out that James isn’t getting any younger and the forward could leave after 2021, which could have some free agents hesitate about signing a long-term deal in Los Angeles.
And then there’s the current roster of young players like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart. Some or all of them were nearly dealt for The Brow. If the Lakers don’t end up with Davis this summer by making a similar deal involving that young core, he has to repair those relationships and prove he wants them around to help win a championship.
Also, this doesn’t help:
You don’t have to feel too bad for James. This is what you get when you’re the best player in a league where players have more power than ever, heavy is the head that wears the crown and all that.
But I bet he didn’t expect the franchise to completely crumble around him when he decide to don the purple and gold.
