Over the course of his career, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has earned various nicknames. One of them has been “LeGM”, a reference to his alleged power when it comes to roster decisions. When you're on the level of someone like LeBron, most of the franchise's moves will go by you.

LeBron-led teams often have the tendency to make huge mid-season moves if something is off. We saw this with the 2018 Cavaliers, where they nearly overhauled their roster at the trade deadline to make a Finals run. Heading into the 2022 trade deadline, fans were expecting LeBron James and Rob Pelinka to do the same for a struggling Lakers squad.

However, that didn't happen during the trade deadline. Instead, the Lakers stood pat, electing to double down on the roster Pelinka assembled in the off-season. There were rumors that LeBron and Anthony Davis did not agree with the front office regarding this decision. It was starting to become a mess.

This leads to a big question surrounding the Lakers today: does LeBron James want Rob Pelinka replaced? While there aren't any concrete reports of LeBron not liking Pelinka, his recent comments feel like a passive-aggressive jab at the Lakers GM. It's very likely the superstar is displeased with how Pelinka has been running things.

After the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl a few weeks ago, James praised GM Les Snead for going all-in and trading for star players. James made those comments around the same time the trade deadline passed. Could that have been a shot at Pelinka for not trading for better players during the deadline?

More recently, LeBron went out of his way to praise Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti during a question about Josh Giddey. Presti's reputation has been a master at wheeling and dealing to get what he wants. Maybe that's yet another jab at the Lakers GM's shoddy roster construction? (via Ben Golliver)

There's plenty of reason for James to be dissatisfied with the Lakers front office. After winning the 2020 championship, Pelinka decided to overhaul the roster instead of keeping them together. Key players were replaced with “upgrades”, upgrades that turned out to be the downfall of the team in the first round. Then, the following year, Pelinka went all-in and traded for Russell Westbrook, as well as letting go of Caruso.

Now, there's a legitimate chance that the Lakers might not even sniff the postseason. If LeBron misses the playoffs with the Lakers again, would that signal the end of Pelinka's tenure in LA? Who knows.