"He’s not the savage competitor that me and Mike are" - Doug Gottlieb claims Kobe Bryant told him LeBron James 'isn't built' for LA
Doug Gottlieb of Fox Sports Radio said on Tuesday that Kobe Bryant once told him about LeBron James being a mismatch if he were to play for the LA Lakers in terms of his personality and style of play.
James made a shock move to the LA Lakers in free agency in 2018. In the process, he joined superstars like Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain. All these players eventually went on to become Lakers legends.
Amid a difficult fourth season in Hollywood for James, Gottlieb recalled a conversation he had with Bryant about the arrival of "The King" in Los Angeles. He noted that "Black Mamba" had reservations about James, who he thought was not "built for LA."
"LeBron was coming to town; it was already done, and he said to me unequivocally, 'LeBron does not know or understand LA', and 'He's not built for it the way I'm built for it," Gottlieb said.
"He's like... 'Then there was negativity when it was me and Shaq, it fueled me. That's not what fuels LeBron. He's just built different. He’s not the savage competitor that me and Mike are."
"I'm the type of killer that wants to kill you and your whole family. LeBron just wants to be loved, play ball, wants to win games, but he is not the killer that me and Mike are,'" Gottlieb added.
The discussion of LeBron James not being built for LA happened due to a recent moment wherein "The King" exchanged words with a few courtside Lakers fans. That happened midway through the Lakers' embarrassing 123-95 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at the Crypto.com Arena.
Incidentally, Bryant welcomed the player on Twitter, praising Rob Pelinka for a job well done, when James arrived in LA four years ago. Reportedly, Pelinka is now at odds with James for not making moves at the trade deadline.
🏾Welcome to the family @KingJames #lakers4life #striveforgreatness @JeanieBuss @MagicJohnson and RP well done!!! 🙌🏾
LeBron James has won an NBA championship with LA Lakers
LeBron James' fourth season with the LA Lakers has been a disaster. Nevertheless, James' stint with the Lakers can be deemed a successful one, as he helped the franchise win their 17th NBA title - and his fourth - in 2020.
However, his stint can also be described as underwhelming, especially as the Lakers also acquired Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. The Lakers missed the playoffs in James' first season in LA. However, they won the NBA championship in his second and then got eliminated in the first round last season. They could miss the postseason again this year.
LeBron James and agent Rich Paul long grabbed hold of the Lakers organization and are now beginning to really squeeze, @billoram writes.
"The situation is tense enough that one source close to the Lakers likened it to the early days of a war."
More: theathletic.com/3144921/?sourc… https://t.co/rsr7mZDV8Y
It doesn't help that James and Klutch Sports have a reported beef with Rob Pelinka and the Lakers management.
The team is set for an interesting summer, as they need to make a lot of tough decisions. The Lakers could blow it up and rebuild or they could rehaul their roster and try to win another NBA title in James' contract year.