LeBron James sounds frustrated with the Lakers ahead of the trade
He can deny it, but LeBron James certainly sounds frustrated.
James spoke with The Athletic’s Sam Amick on Saturday night after his Lakers won 136-134 over the Sacramento Kings about the direction of the Lakers franchise as he nears the end of his career.
Though they’ve won five straight, the Lakers are once again very injured and would miss the playoffs for a second-straight year if the season ended today. James needs some help, and with the trade deadline just about a month away, the Lakers have to make some decisions. There’s been reported internal debates about whether the Lakers should move a pair of future first-round draft picks to help James win now, too.
After a brief conversation with Amick on Saturday night about how the Lakers front office is managing the roster and his involvement in that conversation, James started walking away. The first chunk of the conversation didn’t do much — James repeatedly said he was just focused on playing — but it was the end that revealed how James feels.
“Y’all know what the f**k should be happening,” James yelled back at Amick before walking away for good. “I don’t need to talk.”
James then walked back the tone of that comment later on Sunday afternoon on Twitter.
“Hey Sam, actually my patience isn’t waning. You make it sound like I’m frustrated when I’m really not,” he wrote on Twitter, in part. “I told you over and over, my job is focused on the guys in the locker room, my job isn’t the roster. That’s the reality of that conversation.”
While James is right that his job isn’t to build the Lakers’ roster, he’s absolutely going to have at least a say in what happens. He’s one of the best to ever play the game, and the Lakers have been building around him since he landed in Los Angeles before the 2018-19 season.
James has also made it clear that he doesn’t want to play meaningless basketball anymore. He wants to win now while he still can.
“I’m a winner, and I want to win…
