Skip Bayless denies Lakers wasting LeBron James’ greatness: “They’re recipient of all the angst & agony of LakerNation”
LeBron James and the LA Lakers have been on an absolute roller-coaster ride this season. The storied franchise started off with an unprecedented 0-5.
Although they were producing on defense, they couldn't seem to get anything going on offense. It took some time for them to figure things out, but when they did figure things out, Lakers Nation got a glimpse of the possibilities.
With Anthony Davis producing like an MVP-caliber player and Russell Westbrook thriving in his role off the bench, they went on an 8-2 stretch. Unfortunately, Anthony Davis was then sidelined with an injury that will see him miss about a month of basketball.
In the meantime, LeBron James continues to defy Father Time. He put on an absolute scoring clinic. It's been such an impressive run that Bayless recently praised James, who will turn 38 on Friday, for playing like a 28-year-old.
Given how great LBJ has looked recently, many have accused the franchise of wasting some of the last good years he has left. Analyst Skip Bayless doesn't see things that way. On a recent episode of "Undisputed," he said:
"I think (Lakers owner) Jeannie Buss and (general manager) Rob Pelinka are getting a raw deal here because they are the recipients of all the angst and agony of LakerNation that should be aimed at LeBron himself because he got exactly what he wanted because originally he wanted Anthony Davis."
He said, despite the team winning the controversial bubble championship with an injury-prone Davis, they were running on borrowed time.
You can see his comments in the video below beginning shortly after the two minute mark.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis push for Russell Westbrook
After winning the 2020 championship, the team later parted ways with much of its young core while acquiring Russell Westbrook in 2021 in preparation for their next run. However, Davis (40 games) and James (58) missed much of the 2020-21 season with injuries.
As a result, the LA Lakers' new Big Three played in just a handful of games together, while Westbrook (78) shouldered most of the blame for their 33-49 season.
With the team now struggling, Westbrook's massive contract has generated quite a bit of controversy. With teams unwilling to trade for him as a result, the Lakers have been left "holding the bag," so to speak.
(Suggested Reading: The time LeBron James fired back at Charles Barkley for calling him whiny)
The way Bayless sees things, the difficult position the team is in directly stems from LeBron James and Anthony Davis pressuring the front office to acquire Westbrook.
"They pushed hard for Russ, and Jeanie said, 'OK. Give him Russ, even though it's going to cost us $44 million one year and $47 million the second year.' And there have been moments this year where you thought it wound up maybe not being worth $47 million."
Although the latest reports have indicated that Anthony Davis could return sooner than expected, it could still be several weeks before we see the Lakers star.
Do you think they'll be able to turn things around and make a run at the playoffs when he comes back?
(Suggested Reading: The time Mike Tyson was ready to knock out Michael Jordan)