For the last 15 months or so, Luka Doncic has been the new cornerstone of the Los Angeles Lakers. That, of course, means that LeBron James isn’t the sun around which the franchise revolves anymore.
During that time, some have speculated that James hasn’t been happy about this new arrangement and that he may even leave the Lakers as a result. He is about to become a free agent, and while at least one report has indicated that he would like to stay put, it isn’t exactly a foregone conclusion that he will.
Late this season, there was a situation after a key win that, according to an ESPN report by Dave McMenamin, left James feeling like the franchise has been taking him for granted.
“With ice bags wrapped around both knees and slide sandals on his feet, LeBron James made a right turn out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room and beelined to the exit at Crypto.com Arena,” McMenamin wrote.
“It was March 31, and the Lakers had just completed arguably their most impressive win of the season with a 127-113 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The victory avenged a 30-point loss to the Cavs on Jan. 28 and capped a 32-day stretch in which L.A. went 16-2 to surge up the Western Conference standings.
“The win was the 1,229th of James’ career and moved him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most victories by any player in NBA history (combined regular season and playoffs). Not to mention, it came on a night when Luka Doncic topped 15,000 career points and Rui Hachimura reached 5,000.
“Still, James’ celebratory mood didn’t last long.
“Lakers coach JJ Redick had announced all the individual accomplishments in the postgame locker room, eliciting a cascading round of applause by L.A. players and assistant coaches.
“And then Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations and general manager, addressed the team. He had the game ball in his hands.
“Rather than hand it to Hachimura or Doncic or James, Pelinka walked to the front of the room and presented the ball to Redick, who had just presided over his 100th coaching win.
“James has a ‘great’ relationship with Redick, sources close to him say — with one telling ESPN that Redick’s hiring is ‘one thing the Lakers got right.’
“But James, who played the past eight seasons in Los Angeles and helped deliver the franchise its 17th championship in 2020, saw Pelinka’s priority in that moment as yet another example of the Lakers taking him for granted, sources said.”
The Lakers will now have a delicate line to walk this summer — if they want James back, as Pelinka has publicly said they do, they will have to offer him enough money to stay but not so much that it hampers their salary cap flexibility. They have other incumbent players they will want to re-sign, including Austin Reaves, and they will almost assuredly want to add at least one needle-moving complementary player via free agency.
If the Lakers offer James substantially less than the $52.6 million he made this season in an effort to maintain enough flexibility to become a championship-level team next season, would James make that sacrifice, or could he possibly decide to interpret the reduced offer as an insult? Could he see a reduced offer as another subjective sign that they have been taking him for granted?
While L.A. is now in the business of building a team around and for Doncic, it still may need James’ services for at least one more year. Finding the right balance between doing both, let alone also showing James how much he is still needed and appreciated, won’t be easy.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: One incident left LeBron feeling like Lakers took him for granted
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
