LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have not had a good go of things as of late. They are currently out of a playoff spot, and even the play-in tournament seems like a stretch at this point. With that in mind, LeBron's tenure in L.A. has been largely disappointing, except for that one title in 2020, of course. All of the other years have either been first-round exits or a lack of a playoff berth altogether. Needless to say, not what you would expect from such a phenomenal player.
Well, today on Get Up!, ESPN's Brian Windhorst had a bit of a scathing critique of LeBron's trajectory. As Windhorst explained, from Cleveland to Miami to Los Angeles, LeBron has always worn his teams out, and he consistently leaves them without any draft picks or assets. Simply put, Windhorst thinks that while LeBron is amazing, he does leave a battered path in his wake.
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“LeBron’s career operates in four-year increments. He wears his team out. I call it organizational fatigue,” Windhorst said. “It happened the first time in Cleveland. They ran out of draft picks, they had a bunch of guys in their mid-30s. Shaq close to the finish line, Antawn Jamison. He goes to Miami, four years, great run, they run out of draft picks. In his last game, three guys retired after the game. He goes to Cleveland, four years, great run. They run out of draft picks. They got old guys. Here we are in L.A., fourth year. The oldest team we’ve seen in NBA history, they’re out of draft picks, they’re exhausted.”
Windhorst has always followed LeBron throughout his career, so he certainly has the experience to say something like this. However, we are sure the Klutch Sports camp is looking at ways to change this narrative, immediately.
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