Any debate about the greatest basketball player of all time has to include LeBron James. It is impossible to deny his legacy at this point. Throughout his career, he has accumulated a roster of accolades so impressive that it's almost impossible to imagine one player coming close to achieving them. Like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, he's a legend in his own time.
LeBron is heading into his 23rd season in the NBA, and he's still playing relatively well. The injuries are adding up, and he's not the same game-changing dynamo he used to be. That's to be expected for a 40-year-old man who has been in the game for almost 25 years and regularly plays against opponents half his age.
That's becoming a problem for the Lakers. Given LeBron's stature, he's still a shot caller who wants a team built around him to win. That's what he seems to think, at least. The reality is that it is no longer feasible since he's not the player he used to be. For a franchise looking to build around their new star, Luka Doncic, having James hanging around is not exactly the boost it was a few years ago.
The LeBron James paradox with the Lakers
Everyone who is in the NBA and pays attention to the NBA knows that LeBron is at the tail end of his career. It's impossible to say how long he has left, but it's coming, and an end of an era with it. It's not unfair to suggest that it seems like he's getting desperate to win more titles. He and his management team have been pushing the Lakers to build a real contender for years.
What he doesn't seem to get is that he's the one preventing them from getting there. LeBron is still a great player, but he's also no longer the man he used to be. A winning franchise won't be built on LeBron anymore, a fact that is becoming increasingly evident now that Luka is a Laker. The front office is quite obviously making LeBron-less plans that are built around Luka.
Reportedly, LeBron's management team is now looking at moving the living legend to a franchise with championships in their future. Unless he's willing to take a massive pay cut, that team will have to drop a sizable chunk of their roster to afford him. In turn, that will harm said team's ability to compete for a championship because of a lack of depth.
LeBron James isn't reading the room
It's becoming increasingly evident that LeBron isn't the player he used to be. The man definitely still has value on the court, but he's not going to lead a team to a championship. And his high salary combined with the amount of control he seems to like to exert on the team-building process means that forging a winner around him is incredibly unlikely.
The Lakers are in the unenviable position of deciding what to do with LeBron. As long as he's on the team, competing for a title will remain difficult. At the same time, it doesn't seem like he wants to move on from the franchise. It appears his goal is to win more titles in Los Angeles despite the fact he is a big reason why they won't. This is Luka's team now, not LeBron's.
It seems unlikely that LeBron will leave under his own power. As such, Rob Pelinka might have to do the unthinkable and usher the legend out the door. Otherwise, the Lakers will continue to be knocked out in the first or second round of the playoffs at best, stuck in LeBron purgatory until he accepts that his championship-winning days are likely behind him and finally retires.