LeBron James’ former teammate Kendrick Perkins has shed light on why LeBron and the Lakers franchise aren’t on the same page.
Before James re-signed with the Lakers on a two-year $104 million max deal, it was being reported that he was willing to take a pay cut so the Lakers could sign a big-name player.
Perk already publicly voiced his disbelief, saying earlier this week that the league’s greatest scorer wouldn’t actually be willing to do that.
He’s now doubled down on his take and given his honest thoughts about why the storied franchise could be in trouble.
“The GOAT does it again. King James’ longevity… another $100 million in his bank account,” Perkins said on ESPN‘s First Take. “He actually took the max dollars. When he gave Rob Pelinka more than enough time to do something. He said he was going to take a pay cut. For Rob Pelinka to go out there and search the market… We all know that LeBron James wanted Klay Thompson – they missed out on that to the Dallas Mavericks.
“I don’t know how because all he had to do was offer something of nice quality to the Golden State Warriors to make a sign-and-trade happen. But he dropped the ball on that. Here’s the thing when it comes down to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers right now.
“To me, it seems like they’re on two different pages. When it comes down to LeBron, the reason he wanted to take a pay cut is for the simple fact that he wants to win now at a high level. Every single time he steps on the floor, LeBron James is thinking about championships.
“Rob Pelinka is thinking about the future. I think when you have someone like LeBron James, who is considered one of the greatest if not the greatest player of all time, you got to take advantage of that, do what you need to do to make sure you put championship-caliber players around him so he can go out and complete the mission.”
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