Kendrick Perkins believes LeBron James and Anthony Davis won't win another championship with LA Lakers: "Might be time for Rob Pelinka to make some decisions and start building for the future"
The LA Lakers, even with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the team, now hold a 2-8 record after losing to the Utah Jazz. Somehow, the Jazz, who were supposedly rebuilding and tanking, have a better win-loss slate than the Lakers who were expecting a big bounce-back year.
While some fans remain hopeful the Lakers can still turn the corner, Kendrick Perkins doesn’t share their optimism. After another lopsided loss, the former NBA player tweeted his thoughts:
“Lebron and AD chances on winning another Championship together in a Lakers uniform is over!!! Might be time for Rob Pelinka to make some decisions and start building for the future. Carry the hell on…”
Lebron and AD chances on winning another Championship together in a Lakers uniform is over!!! Might be time for Rob Pelinka to make some decisions and start building for the future. Carry the hell on…
LeBron James recently signed a two-year $97.1 million extension, which will coincide with Anthony Davis’ contract with the LA Lakers. Both have had issues staying healthy, particularly Davis, who has played just 76 games over the previous two years with the team.
“King James” is no spring chicken either. He has suited up for the team in just 101 games over the same span. They have now missed one game each early into the season due to foot soreness for James and back tightness for Davis.
At this point, it’s almost impossible to expect both of them to play at least 65 games a season. If they don’t play that much, their chances of even making the playoffs significantly drop. Their next two years together in Hollywood could end without postseason appearances.
General manager Rob Pelinka’s problem is also based on the fact that while both superstars are healthy, the LA Lakers are still struggling. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are not just the reasons why the team has one of the worst records in the NBA.
Pelinka’s roster construction is a perfect example of how not to maximize James’ best abilities. He added youth and athleticism but forgot to include shooting. The guard-heavy lineup has also been exposed, especially because they play Anthony Davis at center.
Utah Jazz traded away Mitchell & Gobert to tank and somehow still put together a better roster than Rob Pelinka
There are just so many holes to fix that will turn the Lakers into a title-contending team in the next two years. Several basketball analysts have already urged the Lakers to trade James and Davis if they want to recoup draft capital and build for the future.
A former teammate of LeBron James said that the Lakers are “hard to watch.” How one can say that with the four-time MVP, AD and Russell Westbrook in the lineup is almost unimaginable. But that’s where the Lakers have been for the second year running.
Trading both LeBron James and Anthony Davis could be the Lakers’ way out of their mess, as Kendrick Perkins loudly claimed.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis need the entire roster to turn their season around
Jeanie Buss publicly stated that keeping LeBron James was their biggest concern in the offseason, so they’re not likely to trade him. Keeping James happy would also entail the team keeping Anthony Davis, who “King James” described as his best friend.
The most obvious way for the team to be more competitive is to get more production from the supporting cast. Outside of Russell Westbrook, the bench has been a disaster.
After the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Darvin Ham almost desperately pleaded for the Lakers’ role players to step up.
Darvin Ham said the Lakers' role players, including Kendrick Nunn, Austin Reaves, Wenyen Gabriel, Juan Toscano-Anderson & Matt Ryan, need to "step up" to help out the "big dogs", as in LeBron, Russ & AD. He said Russell Westbrook was "phenomenal" today for the 4th straight game.
Whether that happens or not remains to be seen as the NBA is still early into the season. If the Lakers continue to stumble, the call to trade LeBron James and Anthony Davis will only get louder.