LeBron James’ biggest battle: A franchise he possibly can’t control

LeBron James, in my opinion, has officially found something in common with the Los Angeles Lakers fans that was not always the case this season. That something in common is the Lakers front office and the total lack of direction and evidence of improvement.

I could start this article with the Rick Pitino blueprint of people who are not walking through the door with the fire-hose to put out the dumpster fire.

But if you listen to what Rick Pitino said in that infamous press conference, he really believed that the Boston Celtics could turn things around. Insert some old Lakers players like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (I could include Magic Johnson but, too soon) and Jerry West.

Yes, if they walked in the door, they will be old. The sad difference is that Pitino said the team played hard every night. Here’s where the record scratch kicks in. The Lakers basically mailed it in after the All-Star break and it took the South Bay Lakers to prove it over the last 11 games of the season.

I hate the phrase of “The Basketball Gods”, so I’ll just say that karma has a receipt for a player and team that is traditionally known for excellence. That receipt has the names of the LeBron James (player) and the Los Angeles Lakers (team). The price is expensive and will be spread out in payments of three more years.

Remember those leaks that were constantly coming out, presumably because of Magic Johnson? Well, Magic is gone and those leaks keep right on coming.

We’ll get to the leaks in a moment, but the coaching situation right now shows why LeBron James is in a ton of trouble right now.

I’ll bet you LeBron James did believe he left the dysfunction in Cleveland. Only one problem, though.

The Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert, was an absentee owner at that time, who hired strong executives to hold down the fort in his absence. Now he did not treat them well, considering he never extended their contracts and replaced them, but they were talented nonetheless.

Plus, Gilbert gave LeBron James total access to what he wanted and spared no expense in doing so. If he was not happy with the coach (David Blatt), he was dismissed. If LeBron was complaining about the roster (seemingly every two weeks), overhauls were made to make him happy.

Jeanie Buss is a different owner with a different set of rules and a TOTALLY different type of front office. Now LeBron James’ trust is getting out in the news. Considering how media savvy James is using his own system to get his point across I would pay close attention to it.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin suggested on ESPN 710 AM in L.A. that the coaching search is killing whatever trust LeBron and the Lakers had after this disastrous season.

Lake Show Life has been all over the coaching search with Monty Williams, Tyronn Lue and Juwan Howard being the lead guys in the search. The dysfunction hit an all-time high when the Lakers shocked the NBA world bringing in Jason Kidd in for an interview.

This situation is about one thing; power. LeBron James has dealt with teams in a partnership type of scenario his entire career and wanted one with Magic Johnson. Now that he is gone, so is the partnership arrangement. LeBron James is now stuck in a less than ideal situation and he knows it, no matter how much he tries to deny it.

I will give LeBron James some credit. He is in high demand these days from the major sports networks. First, Charles Barkley asks him to come to the TNT studios. Then Stephen A. Smith asks him to come on First Take to have a dialogue.

Can’t say the man still isn’t popular these days!

With his own agenda that was not basketball related, he missed all of the warning signs.