Here Ye, Here Ye, LeBron “King” James is still one of the top players in the NBA and is celebrating his 37th birthday on Thursday.
What is his birthday wish you may ask?
How about a brand new roster and some guys who actually value winning games!
The Los Angeles Lakers “roller-coaster ride” of a season continued on Wednesday night, where they lost 104-99 to the Grizzlies after leading by as many as 14 points in the second-half. Now just 17-19, it is somewhat laughable that many believed this team had what it took to win a championship at the beginning of the year.
LATEST NBA NEWS: David Fizdale Hates Lakers Are Wasting LeBron James Performances
On paper, the Lakers assembled the “Dream Team” of the 2010s with guys like Carmelo Anthony, Deandre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and Trevor Ariza, but this team is slow, have plenty of injury concerns and are now without Anthony Davis for what could be upwards of two months. Oh, and do not forget that they have zero chemistry and look like a bunch of older guys playing pick-up basketball at the local YMCA!
We have seen LeBron James help his teams rise from the ashes to make the NBA Finals and it is hard to count him out because of this, but it is hard to imagine that he will be able to do the same with this group currently assembled in Los Angeles.
The Lakers rank 25th in the league in offensive rating, they are not a great three-point shooting team, they are one of the league-leaders in turnovers per game and worst of all, Russell Westbrook is on this team.
No disrespect to Russell Westbrook, as he is a future Hall-of-Famer and one of the best athletes to ever enter the NBA, but he does not fit in with this team whatsoever and the Lakers dug themselves a hole with his contract that they will not be able to get out of.
LATEST NBA NEWS: David Fizdale Hates Lakers Are Wasting LeBron James Performances
Westbrook is making $44.2M this season and then has a $47M player option for next season that many assume he will not even consider opting out of. The Thunder did not want him anymore following the 2018-19 season, the Rockets did not want him following the 2019-20 season and the Wizards did not want him following last season, so where does this leave Russ in this league?
The Lakers are his fourth team in as many seasons and being paid what he is, there are literally no teams in the league that look at Russell Westbrook as an asset right now. The only two trade scenarios that come to mind in regards to Los Angeles getting rid of him is trading Westbrook for either Ben Simmons or John Wall, but there is a problem with both of these scenarios.
First, the 76ers want no part of Russell Westbrook, as he does not fit in whatsoever with Joel Embiid, and why in the world would the Houston Rockets want to take him back after trading him for John Wall in 2020?
Los Angeles is stuck with Russell Westbrook and he is their problem to try and figure out now. Some nights, he delivers and ends up being a key reason why they win, but other nights, he posts a sub -30 plus-minus, while also recording a triple-double. Westbrook’s statistics are confusing to figure out and it is hard to label him as either valuable or a liability at this point.
LATEST NBA NEWS: David Fizdale Hates Lakers Are Wasting LeBron James Performances
Russell Westbrook is the biggest positive anomaly and outlier at the same time in NBA history in terms of benefitting his team and he is not going to change the kind of player he is.
Going back to “The King,” he has the entire weight of the city of Los Angeles on his back right now. This season is James’ 19th NBA season, and he has been unbelievable yet again, putting on a show since Anthony Davis went down with his sprained MCL.
Over his last six games, LeBron James is averaging 34.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and is shooting 57% from the floor, 40.4% from three-point range, but the Lakers are just 1-5 in their last six games.
LeBron has single-handedly scored about 32% of the Lakers’ total points over their last six games, which is incredible, but also really bad if you are a Lakers fan. Having absolutely zero help from the rest of the guys on his roster and having Russell Westbrook, who is averaging 5.5 turnovers per game and a plus-minus of -35 over his last six games, LeBron James is the lone-wolf on his team yet again.
LATEST NBA NEWS: David Fizdale Hates Lakers Are Wasting LeBron James Performances
Simply saying “The Lakers need more help” or “They need to trade Russell Westbrook” is very easy to say, but it is not that simple of an idea. As stated earlier, no team in the league wants Russ right now, so his trade value is at the point where the Lakers would have to give up assets to trade him, and in actuality, the Lakers do not have any trade assets.
Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn are two young players on this roster on affordable contracts, but Horton-Tucker has not played well this season and Nunn has not played at all. Not to mention, the Lakers have no valuable draft picks that they can trade away.
General manager Rob Pelinka has assembled some great teams in Los Angeles over the years and took a chance with the moves he made this offseason, but it is going to be extremely difficult for the Lakers to get out of the jam they currently find themselves in.
Here Ye, Here Ye, LeBron “King” James is still one of the top players in the NBA, but even the King cannot lead his team to victory without a solid “royal court”. The Lakers need a better supporting cast, but they have no means of getting that right now, setting them up for what will be a very disappointing ending to the 2021-22 season.
