“Wanted to send a message to Rob Pelinka” Kendrick Perkins suggests LeBron James has indirectly told his Lakers teammates to ‘buckle up’ before battle
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LeBron James with Anthony Davis and Kendrick Perkins
LeBron James is making sure that his entire Lakers team is able to hear his voice loud and clear before the start of the 2022-23 season as it i winning that matters most to the King. Since the initial days of his career, young LeBron had shown the world that he is here to stay and win it all. Eventually by the time LeBron James had been in the league for a mere 3 years, he had already led a lottery team to 50 wins in the Eastern Conference. Safe to urge that ‘The Chosen One’ has become accustomed to a high level of success during his 19 years in the NBA.
He has had 10 NBA Finals appearances in 19 seasons so far, that’s more than 50%, and 15 postseason games.
The Los Angeles Lakers not only missed the Playoffs in 2022 but managed to miss the play-in tournament to a semi-rebuilding San Antonio Spurs. They had every reason to blame themselves but LeBron, from the Russell Westbrook experiment to Anthony Davis’s extensive injuries. But the final result was the purple and gold were far away from title contention after being favored by many.
Now, with LeBron James entering his 20th season in the NBA, somehow still being one of the best players in the world, the Lakers front office and team have to act quickly. James had shown a desire to win again when he put up the massive game in Drew League. Former NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins pointed out the LBJ’s intentions behind the Drew League game.
Perkin, after LeBrons epic performance said, “He is sending a message, not only to the Lakers, to Rob Pelinka, say hay lets improve this roaster, I don’t have time to waste, but he is talking to Anthony Davis, he is talking to Russell Westbrook, because if LA Lakers dont make moves, all of a sudden you have this somewhat ‘big 3’.”
LeBron James wants to see the hunger to win in Los Angeles Lakers team
2022 LA Lakers was strong on paper and performed weakly on the court, they had experienced, All-stars, and MVP players in their ranks but no one could deliver on the court for the team. LeBron James averaged 30-points per night, while offensively no other Laker player could contribute on regular basis. The defense was another huge disappointment, costing them a playoff berth. The upcoming 2023 season is the final year in LeBron’s contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent and the Lakers could offer him a 2-year extension worth $97 million.
However, with factors like the Lakers’ contention, support cast around the Megastar, and other developing teams around the league; the 17-time NBA champs may not have the upper hand on possible LeBron sweepstakes.
4-time Finals MVP LeBron James to ‘The Shop’ to say, “I’m obsessed with it, with win or bust. And what makes me have sleepless nights is when you don’t have everyone feel that same way on your club.”
Following his Drew League game, James partnered with DeMar DeRozan scoring 42 points, 16 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. The message was loud that “the king is fit again and ready for the championship.” Combined with the comments he made on the show, it was an alarming sound for the Lakers to work on their game and roaster for the Championship.
LeBrons’ former teammate, Kendrick Perkins, believes that James is also sending this message of improvement to his secondary options, 2020 NBA Champion Anthony Davis and former MVP Russell Westbrook, who played not to their potential in the 2022 season.
It’s unclear what the Los Angeles Lakers will do this offseason. While they have been quiet, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has said that they look to be active very soon, whether it be in the Kyrie Irving trade or getting new pieces around their core of James and AD.
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Kunal Chawda
(600 Articles Published)