LeBron needs to stop acting like a child if he wants to win

Before I deliver my tirade, I would like to state that I have backed LeBron James and his antics since the infamous free agency move in “The Decision”. He demonstrated ultimate player empowerment before it was the popular thing to do amongst superstars, and opened many doors for future NBA players. He has always been a superb role model, but as a man who has succeeded in countless admirable things in his NBA tenure; from donating millions to charity, to standing up on the subject of social issues, to opening his own goddamn school; he has been acting like a child for the better part of the 2018–’19 season.

Being a Laker is something of a dream in the minds of youth basketball players, extending all the way into adulthood. It’s not uncommon to hear players say that they would like to be either a Laker, a Knick, or a Celtic at some point in their career. This obviously applied to LeBron, and the face of the NBA decided that he wanted to sign in Los Angeles in the summer of 2018, a decision that many people speculated was on the horizon for most of his last year in Cleveland. While Los Angeles is the smartest destination from a monetary standpoint; the marketability, sneaker sales, popularity, and overall recognition factor; the Lakers have not been a winning basketball team for the better part of the last decade. Nonetheless, there wasn’t a problem with him signing with the Lakers, even from a basketball standpoint, until he made it one.

Before the season started, all we could hear about in Lakerland was how much praise LeBron was giving the young guys, much of this admiration regarding Brandon Ingram. Not even four months later; LeBron has attempted to get all of these young prospects traded, facilitated a campaign to have Luke Walton fired, concurrently denyed it all, now resulting in catastrophic dysfunction in the LA locker room. One of LeBron’s closest friends in Rich Paul, agent to Anthony Davis, tried and failed to facilitate a trade for AD, and who are we supposed to think was pulling the strings behind the scenes? I’ll be damned if LeBron wasn’t meeting with Paul and Magic Johnson every chance he got, “suggesting” that Magic trade every player on the Lakers roster along with every draft pick of the next decade for Anthony Davis. Now LA is forced to claw their way into the 8th seed in the aftermath of a nightmare that LeBron, Rich Paul, and Magic created for themselves.

If you haven’t been living under a rock in the sports world, then you have probably seen LeBron’s Instagram post concerning Harrison Barnes getting traded in the middle of a Mavericks game. If not, here it is:

Okay LeBron, if you feel so strongly about this scenario, then at the very least try to justify all the conniving that went into trying to get your whole team traded. Let’s not forget who signed the contract to play with a below-average young Laker squad, when you literally could have signed with any team in the NBA.

While James could very well be the greatest NBA player of all time, his rigorous urgency to land Anthony Davis has left the Lakers players discouraged, and the team’s front office embarrassed. If he wanted to win games so badly, maybe signing to a team that hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2013 wasn’t ideal. As a result, Lebron has effectively created an annoying and exhausting narrative as a Laker. After all of this, will the Lakers ever be able to attain an all-star to pair with King James? It sure seems like other star-caliber players aren’t up for the soap opera that follows the King; just ask Paul George and Kyrie Irving.

LeBron James is obviously a fantastic player, and an even better human altogether. Nevertheless, if he wants free agents to sign with him, he has got to grow up a little.

-MD

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