It appears the megalomaniacal delusions of LeBron James and his retinue know no bounds.
According to longtime LeBron acolyte Brian Windhordst, the James camp would feel entitled to an explanation should the Lakers have the unbridled audacity to bring him anything less than a maximum contract offer.
“Windhorst noted that James and his camp want the Lakers to make a contract offer, and if it is for anything less than the maximum, they want the Lakers to explain why and what other players they are going to target with the money that is saved.”
The question must be asked that “who does this guy think he is?”
Under normal circumstances this levenor audacious sense of entitlement would be mind boggling. However as it relates to James, this is a mindset that has been forged by over two decades of franchises capitulating to his nearly every whim ( even if it is to their own detriment), legions of sycophants and a carefully constructed propaganda machine that incessantly promotes the Gospel of LeBron.
Because of this LeBron and his camp feel any franchise should be falling over themselves if the self proclaimed royalty and his retinue decide to grace them with their presence. This is part of what Kevin Durant was alluding to when he said the environment around James was “toxic.”
While teams may have been more amenable to dealing with James and the baggage that comes along with him , at 41 years old and will turn 42 in the midst of next season, for most teams the juice is no longer worth the rather expensive squeeze.
If the Lakers were smart, they would take a hard line in these negotiations and let him know here is the number at which we are willing/able to bring back. It makes no financial nor basketball sense to sink more than $50 million into a player in his 40’s. Not only would that severely limit any potential upgrades to the roster that the Lakers might want to make , but it will have a deleterious effect on nearly every other player on the roster who cannot thrive in the LeSystem.
The Lakers got a 14 game sample size at the beginning of the season of what life without LeBron James was like and it seemed to go swimmingly for everyone not named LeBron. Luka and Austin Reeves seemed to mesh very well together and Deandre Ayton, yes THAT Deandre Ayton, was playing some of the best basketball of his career.
If Los Angeles wants to nerf their other two stars, and their other players then they will bring James back, if they want to make a declaration they are not a franchise that can be taken seriously, then not only will they proceed down that path, but they will do so with a max contract for James in their proverbial hands.
