After LeBron James captured the first ever Olympics MVP following Team USA's Gold medal win in Paris earlier this month, longtime LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke has since wondered aloud how long the Lakers will be let off the hook for squandering much of James' time with the team.
Yes, LeBron — and his Olympics teammate Anthony Davis — led the Lakers to a championship in 2020, but much of the King's six years in Los Angeles have been tarnished by constant concerns that the Lakers front office was not properly invested in capitalizing on the final few years of James' prime.
“The dilemma facing LeBron James and the team that can’t possibly bring him a championship became starkly clear this summer when one of James’ shining career moments only caused Los Angeles to sigh,” Plaschke wrote for the LA Times on Monday. “What greatness. What a waste. What a gift. What a squander.”
Plaschke states that if the Lakers fail to contend for a title over the next two seasons, it represents what he believes is, “the biggest blown opportunity in the history of Los Angeles sports.”
“Worse than the Kings failing to win a Stanley Cup with Wayne Gretzky. Worse than the Clippers destroying Lob City. Worse than USC failing to play for a national title with Caleb Williams. And, yes, even worse than the Dodgers winning those 10 division championships with only one short-season title to show for it.”
Can LeBron James, Anthony Davis carry Olympics success into Lakers season?
Bill Plaschke would go on to implore Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka to swing for the fences over the next two seasons, doing everything short of trading Anthony Davis, in order to contend for a title while LeBron James is still in Los Angeles.
“Rob Pelinka, this space hereby promises not to rip you for any wild swings you take in an effort to rescue LeBron’s final years. You want to trade fan favorite Austin Reaves? Go for it. You want to trade the tormented D’Angelo Russell? Do it. Rui Hachimura? Gone. Jarred Vanderbilt? Gone. Two future first-round draft picks in 2029 and 2031? Done and done.”
Coincidentally, this seems to be a sentiment shared by both LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The cruel irony of this situation is that it's a trade that Rob Pelinka and the Lakers did make that was the most damaging to LA's year-in and year-out championship chances.
The decision to trade Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and a 2021 1st Round pick to Washington for Russell Westbrook less than a year after winning the NBA Title was a blow that the franchise is still recovering from. Yet since that trade, thanks to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers have still managed to make the Western Conference Finals in 2023, and push the Denver Nuggets in a hard-fought five-game series this year.
The problem for the Lakers is that they are not only contending with a Western Conference that is hellacious as it's ever been, but also with Father Time. LeBron James' advanced age has been covered, seemingly for the last half decade, yet even as he's on the verge of turning 40 years old, LeBron has continued to prove he's still one of the best basketball players alive. But again, he's almost 40, and there is no historical precedent for any of this. He can't possibly keep going at this rate, right?
Anthony Davis isn't exactly a spring chicken either. Davis is 31 years old and doesn't have the cleanest track record when it comes to staying healthy throughout an entire season — though, it should be noted that AD was remarkably durable during the 2023-24 season, playing in 76 regular season games, the most he's played in a single season in his 12-year NBA career.
At some point though, the Lakers need to realize that for as impressive as this championship duo still can be, the rest of the roster isn't in a place to contend for an NBA Title. And while the game's greatest player remains a Laker, the franchise that prides itself on its 17 NBA Championships should be doing a whole hell of a lot more to push for No. 18.
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