“He has zero chance of winning a championship in LA in the next two years” - Mike Greenberg believes 6-time NBA All-Defensive team member should want to leave the LA Lakers
LA Lakers superstar LeBron James should want out of the franchise, according to Mike Greenberg. The superstar is stuck with a team that is not in contention for a championship.
Appearing on ESPN's morning show "Get Up," one of ESPN's premier sports media personalities, Mike Greenberg, spoke about how this Lakers team is going nowhere and that James should want to leave the franchise and seek a move elsewhere. Mike Greenberg said:
"Stephen A. Smith said last week on First Take that the Lakers should consider trading LeBron James. Not only was he right, but I will go one better - he (LeBron James) should want that.
"He has ZERO chance of winning a championship in L.A. in the next two years. He has a much better chance of doing it someplace else."
The Lakers and LeBron James were eliminated without making the Play-In tournament this year. They finished 11th in the highly competitive Western Conference, with a record of 33 wins and 49 losses.
.@Espngreeny is agreeing with @stephenasmith ... The Lakers should trade LeBron James 👀
"[LeBron] should WANT that! He has ZERO chance of winning a championship in L.A. in the next two years. He has a much better chance of doing it someplace else." https://t.co/3tKrEl5KHu
Is Mike Greenberg right about LA Lakers trading LeBron James?
LeBron James is nearly untouchable for the LA Lakers right now. He is without question their best player and is the only reason this team wasn't a lottery team and had a shot at being in the postseason this year.
However, the difficulties have led to reports of unrest between superstar LeBron James and the Lakers' front office, including general manager Rob Pelinka.
LeBron has been involved in a power struggle with Pelinka and the team's hierarchy. Many reports said the superstar might be interested in a move back to his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The idea is that he may stand a better chance at winning a championship with them than the Lakers.
LeBron James' 38 points are tied for the 2nd-most in a triple-double against a player's former team in NBA history (via @EliasSports).
His 7 30-point games vs CLE are tied with Kevin Durant (vs OKC) for 2nd-most against a former team among active players. https://t.co/69aQqe2u7N
The Lakers pursued Russell Westbrook over Buddy Hield in the summer due to explicit instructions from James, who wanted to play alongside Westbrook. The move has backfired as Westbrook's performances have been shockingly poor. He has failed to establish chemistry with James and has leaked turnovers.
Anthony Davis' injury proneness and Russell Westbrook's poor performances have led to the Lakers having only one huge tradeable asset in LeBron James.
While James is still their best player, by far, the fact of the matter is that this is a poorly constructed roster that is going nowhere unless taken apart and reconstructed.
This could mean that the LA Lakers, as Mike Greenberg suggested, might have to trade away their most valuable asset and get enough compensation in return to build for the future. Furthermore, LeBron James is in the last few years of his career and will want to play for a championship caliber team.