One L.A. radio host is questioned LeBron James’ true impact during his Los Angeles Lakers’ tenure, and he suggested Jeanie Buss letting the 39-year-old star walk and join “Bronny in Dallas” with Luka Doncic’s Mavs.
Although the Los Angele Lakers have won three consecutive games and seven of their last 10 heading into the final stretch run of the season, not everyone in Hollywood is happy with the team’s overall direction.
In a recent segment on AM 570 LA Sports, Matt Smith ranted about LeBron James’ shortcomings during his Los Angeles tenure, suggesting that the Lakers “let him walk” this summer and have his son, Bronny, join him on the Dallas Mavericks.
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“If the LeBron is 31 and in the prime of his career, and the Lakers have won multiple titles, or been to the NBA Finals in four of his six years… great! They won a bubble championship in a truncated season, and they have won a playoff series in one other postseason [since]. That is it,” Smith said.
“Why do you have to be committed to making sure that he’s happy? What are you afraid of losing? A guy who helped guide you to fourth or fifth place in the division for four of the six years that he’s been here? They’ve won a playoff series in two of his five postseasons, and currently they would be the ninth-place team [in the Western Conference].
“Let him walk. I would let him walk, get rid of him. Let him go somewhere else and have Bronny James join him there, in Dallas.”
LeBron will have a player option for the 2024-25 season worth $51.4 million this summer. However, if he declines that option, he will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with a new team if he wishes to do so.
The 39-year-old legend is still playing at a high level, as he’s averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game while shooting 52.0 percent overall and 39.5 percent from deep. However, the days of a team being able to win a title with LeBron as the best player on the roster might be over.
If LeBron does decide to join a new team this summer while taking more of a backseat role, joining his friends Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in Dallas would make a lot of sense, especially when considering that Irving tried recruiting him to the Mavs last summer.
“[The Mavs’ front office] asked me what I thought throughout the summertime,” Irving said of the Mavs’ roster-building process before this season began. “Even in our closing meetings [from last season], they just asked me questions, trying to gauge who I wanted to play with and who I saw in the market and who in these next couple of free agency classes will be available. That’s pretty interesting.”
Now that the Mavs have surrounded Doncic and Irving with young, talented frontcourt depth, they’re looking like a real title contender in the West … and a much more enticing free-agency destination going forward as well, whether LeBron wants to jump on the train or not.
