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.

LeBron James missed all of the signs that Magic Johnson was not staying through his contract

The greatest advice I have received in life is when you are making life-changing decisions based on an agreement with someone, listen closely to everything that is being said. LeBron James ignored this important piece of advice.

Magic Johnson was brought in to recruit big time free agents and sell the tradition of the “Showtime” Lakers of championship past. LeBron James locked himself into a four-year deal based on the trust that Magic Johnson could land another superstar to play with him.

The problem is this quote from Magic Johnson himself before he signed James.

"“No, because I told you this is [about] two summers,” Johnson said when asked if it will be a failure if the Lakers don’t land a max star like LeBron James or Paul George in free agency next month. “We don’t know what people are going to decide, and we can’t control that. So if guys decide not to come here, it’s not a failure — we turn to next summer. “Next summer, if nobody comes and I’m still sitting here like this, then it’s a failure. But if you judge us on one summer, that’s ridiculous. Then a lot of dudes shouldn’t be in their roles. Because if we’re banking on one summer for the Lakers, we’re in trouble.” “You have to give us time,” Johnson continued. “… Like I told you before I took the job and when I took the job, it’s going to be a two-summer thing for the Lakers. This summer and next summer. That’s it. If I can’t deliver I’m going to step down myself. She [team controlling owner Jeanie Buss] won’t have to fire me, I’ll step away from it, because [then] I can’t do this job.”"

Now, LeBron James always could control his destiny and keep the Cavaliers honest by signing two-year deals with a player option. The Cavaliers had to respect that in fear that he would leave again with nothing in compensation. That would be a disaster that they could not afford. Plus, LeBron James always had a no-trade clause in his contract which included a clause he could control WHERE we wanted to be traded.

With the Lakers, there are no clauses like that, plus the Lakers can trade him if they wish. The Lakers used Magic Johnson to sell outside business arrangements to entice James to sign.

Another sign that LeBron James missed.

No Luke Walton, no Rob Pelinka leads to promises that Magic Johnson couldn’t keep

That must have been some meeting that night, with Magic and LeBron talking basketball and business interests. LeBron James talking about what he needs and how the Lakers can get better while Magic agreed with everything with a laugh to get his signature.

Only one problem with this scenario.

Luke Walton was not there and Rob Pelinka was not there. Two employees in the Lakers organization that had more power than most people thought. Sure, I know what you are about to say.

Luke Walton got fired! How did he have any power?

Well, it seems that Luke Walton had an option to keep his job if he preferred according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.

There were reports that Magic Johnson wanted Luke Walton and Rob Pelinka fired to continue as President of Basketball Operations. Something that Jeanie Buss was not going to agree to.

Maybe LeBron James should have had a conversation with LaVar Ball. Look, you may not like his delivery. but can you really say he’s wrong?

Now that LeBron James’ number one ally is gone, now he has to deal with a brand new proposal.

The new coach is not for LeBron James, the coach is for Jeanie Buss

No disrespect to any of the other reports stating that the Lakers are looking for the best coach for LeBron James. I’m here to tell you, no, they are not.

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking for a coach to CONTROL LeBron James. Coach…control, see the difference?

A part of me really wants to believe that Jeanie and Rob Pelinka read my piece on the “LeBron James” takeover during the trade deadline in February. Based on what is going on with this coaching search, it sure does look like it. If the Lakers REALLY wanted a coach for LeBron James, they would have had Ty Lue in the fold during the All-Star break.

It’s hard to believe under any circumstances that Ty Lue shouldn’t have the job based on his body of work.

A) He worked under Doc Rivers, a coach the Lakers wanted before he said no, for years.

B) Ty Lue was a part of a Cleveland Cavaliers team that went to four straight NBA Finals series. He was brought to the staff as the highest paid assistant coach in the NBA.

C) He then took over as head coach and guided the Cavaliers to three straight NBA Finals, winning an NBA championship in 2016.

D) Oh yeah, he coached the last team to beat the Golden State Warriors in a playoff series.

Now he’s taking this type of resume up against two ex-coaches that have below .500 records (Monty Williams and Jason Kidd) and a candidate that hasn’t coached a game yet (Juwan Howard).

I mean, at least Luke Walton was 39-4 reading the newspaper while the Warriors were racking up wins in their 73-9 season. All of this and it seems that Monty Williams is the leader in the clubhouse.

I mean what gives? New York Times’ Marc Stein may have an idea on the issue the Lakers face right now. 

That control was never more evident than the Anthony Davis saga. Let’s investigate the aftermath.

LeBron James power brokering will have an impact on the rest of his career in L.A.

The Davis trade saga will change the way the NBA brokers deals in the future. I can almost guarantee a rule will be in the next collective bargaining agreement. But meantime in between time, you can bet LeBron James’ career in Los Angeles will be very different going forward.

The reputation of the franchise changed forever after the trade deadline. I mean this started rumors of LeBron James being traded, folks! It does depend on who you believe (For the record…I don’t believe it)

First Ric Bucher of the Bleacher Report. Then Stephen A. Smith weighed in…

Which leads to this problem for the Lakers and LeBron James. This situation is going to derail any chance of landing a max level free agent. What makes it worse is both parties are responsible.

The dysfunction shows the complete power struggle between LeBron’s camp and the front office to the rest of the NBA. When Magic Johnson left, the rumors started about how bad the relationships were with other team’s front offices and Rob Pelinka. If this statement by Zach Lowe is true, the Lakers are looking at the lottery next year.

"“Who they hire in the front office is going to be absolutely crucial to replace Magic, because there are two orbits here: There’s a Lakers orbit … and then, the more interesting one is, there’s a LeBron orbit. And I’ve had some powerful people in the league, including a powerful agent who represents lots of key players, tell me, ‘We don’t want the person to be from either of those orbits. We don’t want the new GM, or president, or whatever, even to have some sort of connection to LeBron. We need it to be a fresh start. My players don’t want to have the impression that LeBron is running the team.’”"

  Well Lakers fans, you can’t say there wasn’t a warning last offseason!

Believe it or not, yes, there is some hope, but it is going to have to come from New York

No, not the New York Knicks, but the NBA offices in the city of New York. Adam Silver may have to come in and make changes on how the team is run on a daily basis. Here’s the good news. You have already seen his handy work in these NBA playoffs alone.

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the second round of the playoffs playing the Toronto Raptors. Remember when “The Process” was a laughingstock instead of Joel Embiid‘s catchphrase? The NBA orchestrated Sam Hinkie’s ouster with Jerry Colangelo being a special adviser and soon replaced Hinkie with Bryan Colangelo.

Together, they built the team to the playoff quality you see currently. Sure Colangelo got “burned” with his Twitter burner accounts, but the foundation was set by the Colangelos. Elton Brand sent the franchise into the stratosphere.

How about those Brooklyn Nets?

I know this story well. The ownership group and the franchise was a mess due to the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade with Boston. When Mikhail Prokhorov wanted to buy a commanding percentage of the team, some changes were recommended by the NBA offices.

The Nets then fired head coach Lionel Hollins and reassigned general manager, Billy King. They were replaced with two men with San Antonio Spurs ties; head coach Kenny Atkinson and general manager Sean Marks.

This is where I see this situation going. This is why I believe the business at hand is going so slowly. The Lakers are stalling while the playoffs are going on. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. For LeBron James and Lakers fans, pray that I am right because the reputation of the Lakers is getting worse by the day.