Stephen A. Smith Shades Lakers’ Latest Moves After LeBron James Exit: “Your Top 3 Players Are White Dudes?”

The Los Angeles Lakers used up almost all the cap space LeBron James left behind to immediately sign a bunch of players.

Stephen A. Smith Shades Lakers’ Latest Moves After LeBron James Exit: “Your Top 3 Players Are White Dudes?”

Stephen A. Smith blasts Rob Pelinka's 'White Dude Central' Lakers (Image via FirstSportz)

As soon as LeBron James announced that he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, it started a new era where the team would now be able to spend around $50 million to bring in talent that was otherwise locked up in the superstar’s contract.

The franchise not only had its own free agents to sign back, but also had to dive into the pool of players to get those who could help them contend for a championship.

Soon, it became apparent that the Lakers had a different plan in play. A couple of their free agents left to join other teams, while a few others elected to join the storied franchise.

There is a possibility that a couple more players could leave, but so far GM Rob Pelinka has signed a few impactful players to address those areas of need.

One of those moves was to trade with the Utah Jazz for center Walker Kessler. James and Anthony Davis had long wanted it to happen, but now, Pelinka has been able to get it done. But this deal saw one analyst lose his mind.

Where the hell do the Lakers think they are going with a bunch of white dudes? Your 3 top players are white dudes? Really?… In NBA history, when have you seen your 3 most prominent players… all be white, and they have taken you to the promised land. You ain’t scaring anybody with that.

Stephen A. Smith said on his namesake show

The 58-year-old labeled this version of the Lakers as Rob Pelinka’s ‘White Dude Central’ while reiterating that history has proven this mix never works.

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Fans tear into Stephen A. Smith for racist Lakers take

Basketball fans know that black players have generally won championships, with the occasional exception of a white player leading the team. Even then, there will be a presence of black players on the squad to bring in that athleticism.

Nowadays, white players are breaking the mold, as Stephen A. Smith‘s former colleague, Skip Bayless, mentioned. But to completely disregard white players with a racist rant did not sit well with fans. They took to social media to lambast the ESPN analyst, with examples below.

The league is ever-evolving, and so are players with different athletic traits. In fact, the rise of Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and even Austin Reaves has proved that white players use their soft touch to get the better of their opponents. That is why this analogy did not sit well with fans.

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Ex-champion questions retooled Lakers’ character

Just as fans were reacting to Rob Pelinka’s signings in real time, the cast of Road Trippin’ Podcast decided to talk about it when Iman Shumpert was on as a guest.

Lakers have quite a few white players
Lakers have quite a few white players (Image via SI/X)

I thought this was the Lakers. Where is the personalities?… This is going to be a boring team, though… There’s no grit, there’s no swag.

Iman Shumpert said

The show’s hosts and former Cleveland Cavaliers players joined their fellow 2016 championship-winning teammate to joke about how this retooled Lakers team was more about their educational capabilities than their athleticism.

This joke was similar to what Stephen A. Smith was saying. Just that since it was said in a space of humor, even host Allie Clifton, a white woman, laughed about it.

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