Kevin Durant adamantly disagrees with notion that LeBron James runs Lakers

Justin Benjamin
3 Min Read

Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Lakers titan LeBron James are two of the most powerful players in the NBA.

In fact, there is a notion that the two players make vital calls on their respective teams’ roster constructions and managements. Durant, though, slammed that perception in an interview with Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports.

“I feel like that’s a narrative that [media created]. I don’t even think LeBron does that,” Durant told Yahoo! Sports. “He might have input or know some information. But him saying [pointing left], ‘This is who you should get.’ [Points right.] ‘That’s who you should get,’ I don’t think it works like that.

“I’ve been around Steph [Curry], he doesn’t work like that. Let people do their jobs. It’s not on me to overstep what they do. I’m just here to support. If they need me to text or call somebody that may come, of course.”

Durant, 33, saw his season come to an end on Monday against the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics completed a stunning sweep versus the Nets in Brooklyn. Durant, one of the game’s greatest scorers, was hounded and dominated by the Celtics’ defense throughout the series.

The forward averaged 26.3 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 boards in 44.0 minutes per game in the 2022 first-round series. He shot just 38.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from downtown and 89.5 percent from the free-throw line during the four-game sweep.

While Durant didn’t exert his formidable play in the postseason, he was caught in the midst of a plethora of drama this season. The 12-time All-Star was in the middle of Kyrie Irving’s COVID-19 vaccine drama, James Harden’s trade request and much more. It all came to an ugly halt on Monday.

James, 37, also endured a painful season filled with drama, terrible play and discord.

The four-time MVP, who reportedly entertained recruiting a plethora of stars to L.A. last offseason, took some heavy blame for the Lakers’ roster management woes.

After all, James played a huge part in triple-double king Russell Westbrook landing in Los Angeles. The experiment was a total failure, and Westbrook partially bashed James for not being fully supportive.

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Justin’s enormous respect for LeBron James has ignited him to write for the King and Lakers. His all-around analysis and heart for the game has made him a stellar NBA writer and proud staff writer for Lakers Daily.