Los Angeles Lakers: Did LeBron James make a mistake coming here?

With inconsistent youngsters and a superstar trade unlikely to materialize, is it possible LeBron James already regrets coming to Los Angeles?

There are many adjectives one can use to describe LeBron James. From “talented” to “outspoken” to “business savvy,” he’s a man of many gifts. Above them all, though, is his decision-making both on and off the court as arguably the greatest basketball player of all time and a self-made near billionaire.

He’s not your average human being. He’s shrewd and calculating with an innate understanding of the ramifications of everything he does, ranging from what he wears to the arena to what rap lyrics he bobs along to in an Instagram story. He has to be, otherwise, the avalanche of criticism he keeps at bay will come at a rate not even his 6’8” 260-pound frame can withstand.

So when he decided to ditch the cold Ohio winters and join Los Angeles Lakers this past summer, the optics of it all didn’t really fall in line with past LeBron decisions, at least in a basketball sense.

In this, the super-team era he ironically started, James had always been at his best with other stars around him, and it was those top-20 players deemed necessary to realistically compete for a championship.

There was no third star he was teaming up with in Los Angeles. There wasn’t even a second. L.A. was stocked with a number of 20-something-year-olds whose careers could go in a number of different directions, ranging from the next Jason Kidd to the second coming of Andrew Wiggins.

Quite a few had theorized LeBron was done competing at a high level, opting instead to end his career in the sun, building his media empire by the day. Those who truly believed in his greatness, though, knew there had to be more than what met the eye.

To a certain extent, there was. He came to the Lakers with the idea they could attract that all-important co-star the following summer. After all, the 2019 free agent class was filled with perennial All-Stars such as Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler. Surely one of them would come to join the King in Southern California, no?

In this age of social media, impending free agent’s decisions are known well before their contracts run out. As of right now, none seems destined to don the purple and gold, after L.A. pulled out of negotiations due to “outrageous” requests made by the New Orleans Pelicans, it doesn’t look like Anthony Davis will arrive any time soon either.

This was always the massive flaw in LeBron’s move to the Lakers. He seemed to have expected at least one big-name free agent would join him, while the writing on the wall suggested otherwise. Kawhi has never been one for the bright lights. Klay’s got a pretty good thing going with the Golden State Warriors.

Once AD was on the table, some level of hope emerged, but the odds of such a pairing now seem slim to none. Now, he’s back to dealing with young guys who not only aren’t good enough, but likely feel alienated due to the constant trade rumors they find themselves a part of. The path back to contending-status seems as murky as ever.

If James really wanted to compete for championships, he could’ve joined the Philadelphia 76ers. A team with two other stars with depth in the Eastern Conference, they could’ve done some damage. Yes, his family played a bigger role in this free-agency decision, but it’s hard to imagine the James Gang vetoing the move had it ultimately been what LeBron decided to do.

Maybe Golden State lowballs Thompson in free agency, leading to a storybook homecoming. Perhaps Pelicans general manager Dell Demps picks up the phone and negotiates a deal with Magic Johnson. Neither seems all that probable, leaving LeBron and the front office with questions they can’t avoid answering.

Basketball hypotheticals are what brought James to Los Angeles. Some would say it was business opportunities, but LeBron has always managed to keep the main thing the main thing.

Unfortunately, those super-team daydreams may have clouded his judgment as to just how realistic such a scenario was, and building further on his all-time legacy may prove difficult because of it.