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The LA Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals but LeBron James remained in the national media attention. “King James” stunned reporters in his postgame interview after giving hints of a possible retirement.
Jovan Buha, who has covered the LA Lakers over the past three years, had this to say about James’ statement on the “Bill Simmons Podcast:”
“My read on the situation would be them [Lakers] going for a third star again. This time, getting a better-fitting third star. He was pushing for Kyrie [Irving] last offseason, pushing for Kyrie again by the February 9th trade deadline. He is a fan of Kyrie. He wanted the Lakers to do that.
“LeBron’s looking at the situation and like, ‘I don’t know if I have enough here.’ He’s putting pressure on the Lakers, ‘You guys gonna give me a reason to wanna come back to this situation.’ I think for him, that’s getting a Kyrie Irving.
The LA Lakers were the hottest team since the trade deadline. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka moved Russell Westbrook in a three-team deal that got them D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt. Rui Hachimura was also acquired from the Washington Wizards in a separate deal.
The Tinseltown team also surprised many by trading Patrick Beverley to the Orlando Magic for backup big man Mo Bamba. Pelinka’s flurry of moves helped push the Lakers from near outside the play-in tournament to the West Conference finals.
Based on how the Lakers were blown away by the Denver Nuggets, it has now become clear that LeBron James needs an even better team. They can no longer count on Anthony Davis to consistently be elite. AD’s roller-coaster ride even when healthy was just so frustrating to watch for Laker Nation.
LeBron James, at 38 years old and playing his 20th season, played nearly the entire Game 4 to drag the Lakers to a win. He had a game-high 40 points but ran out of gas down the stretch. LA’s next-best scorer was Davis, who had 21.
“King James” emphatically insisted that it was no longer fun for him to reach just the conference finals. His last remaining few years are solely devoted to contending championships. He might have figured out already that the Lakers’ roster will not be enough to come out of the wild West.
Kyrie Irving can give LeBron James some breathing room
Kyrie Irving and LeBron James have proven that they mesh well together on the floor. They have numerous playoff victories and the 2016 upset of the Golden State Warriors as proof.
James reportedly pushed the Lakers to acquire Russell Westbrook so the team can have a playmaker and scorer when he takes a breather. The problem was when they were on the floor together as “Russ” hardly resembled his MVP self without the ball in his hands.
Irving, on the other hand, can thrive as the Lakers’ shooting guard while also relieving James of playmaking duties when needed.
Acquiring Kyrie Irving to pair him with LeBron James is not as difficult as before. The mercurial point guard is an unrestricted free agent. Whether Irving will take less to play for the Lakers and reunite with James remains the question.
On paper, the trio of James, Irving and Anthony Davis will be the favorites to win next year’s championship.
Guess the Lakers players!
