Los Angeles Lakers insider Jovan Buha believes that star forward LeBron James took a shot at L.A.’s front office on the “Mind the Game” podcast after the team was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“He talked about the Lakers not having the requisite talent,” Buha said. “And that it was not that they were outcoached by OKC. They were not outhustled by OKC. They were not out-physicalled by OKC. It was actually talent, and they were out-talented by OKC.
“And that was a not-so-veiled shot at the front office, at the organization. And he’s taken those before, over the last few years in terms of talking about the roster and the Lakers’ lack of talent and the lack of firepower relative to the other top teams in the league.”
The Lakers were swept by the Thunder in the second round, and there’s no doubt that they were at a talent deficit in the series. However, part of that was because star guard Luka Doncic (hamstring) was out of the lineup and did not play in the team’s entire playoff run. Had Doncic been able to suit up, things might have looked different in the playoffs.
James was able to lead the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs even though Doncic did not play while fellow star Austin Reaves (oblique) missed four of the six games in that series.
The four-time champion averaged 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per contest across 10 playoff games, taking his game to the next level with the Lakers undermanned. But it wasn’t enough for L.A. to go on a truly deep run, and the team seemingly has work to do if it wants to become a threat to the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference.
James is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and if he decides to return to the NBA for a 24th season, it’ll be interesting to see where he lands. If he wants to continue building with the Lakers, the team may need the veteran to take a pay cut to help it build out the roster around him, Doncic and Reaves (who has a player option and could be a free agent this summer as well).
The Lakers have opted not to trade a lot of their future draft capital even with James on the team, as they’ve instead been patient for the right move. One of those moves was adding Doncic in the 2024-25 season, and the star guard gives the Lakers a higher ceiling than they had in previous seasons.
Hopefully, Doncic will be healthy for next season and a potential playoff run, and it’ll be exciting to see if James returns to Los Angeles to chase a fifth title in his already storied NBA career.
