With the Los Angeles Lakers struggling immensely on the court this season things have started to unravel off of the court as well. Tensions have risen after the 2022 NBA trade deadline after Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers did not make a trade, particularly a John Wall for Russell Westbrook swap.
That decision to not make a trade reportedly created tension between LeBron James (and Klutch Sports) and Rob Pelinka. Sources then told Bill Oram of The Athletic that the tension between LeBron and the Lakers was like the early days of war and that LeBron has more power in the franchise than Kobe Bryant ever had.
Throw in LeBron’s interestingly-timed comments about ending his career on whatever team drafts Bronny James and things are starting to heat up in Los Angeles; so much to the point that a LeBron James trade in the summer is an actual (although still unlikely) possibility.
Shams Charania of The Athletic did put some water on these flames, though. Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Charania said that he spoke to Rich Paul of Klutch Sports directly and Paul himself said that there is no issue between Klutch Sports, Rob Pelinka, LeBron James, or the Lakers.
“I spoke to Rich Paul. Rich Paul said there’s no issue between him and the Lakers. There’s no issue between Klutch Sports and Rob Pelinka. There’s no issue between LeBron and the Lakers.”
— The Lakers Review (@TheLakersReview) February 23, 2022
- Shams Charania during his appearance on The Pat McAfee show today
Is Rich Paul being 100% truthful about LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers?
Personally, I don’t buy what Rich Paul is saying. I think that he and LeBron James do not want there to be any sort of public beef that is stirring up controversy, but they know exactly what they are doing.
These stories do not just come out of thin air and LeBron has done nothing to put any of this to bed himself. We all know that LeBron is extremely calculated on what he says and how he says it in the media. There is a reason that LeBron called Los Angeles Rams GM Les Snead a “LEGEND” for wearing a shirt that said “F— them picks” literally right after the Lakers refused to trade a pick for John Wall.
There is a reason why he called another general manager, Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti, the MVP after the trade deadline. Most players we can assume that there is not much behind these quotes. With LeBron, you always have to look into how he is playing the media because he has done it his entire career.
Is this relationship to the point where LeBron would demand a trade from the Lakers? Probably not. Could we see LeBron pressure ownership to fire Rob Pelinka if he is not adhering to what he (and Klutch Sports) want him to do in the offseason? That is not off the table.