20-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers combo forward LeBron James has had quite the summer.
He’s seen his former “Mind The Game” podcast co-host JJ Redick installed as the team’s new head coach, while watching his club select his son, former USC Trojans one-and-done reserve point guard Bronny James, with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
During a recent episode of his show The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons riffed about the four-time league MVP’s influence on the club’s personnel decisions.
“The Lakers are running themselves. They hired the coach themselves, they’re doing all the draft picks themselves,” Simmons said, jokingly. “My point is, why do we have to pretend he’s not running the Lakers? Like how long do we have to do this? How long? Give us a date. By the way, he should run the Lakers. I thought they should have hired [longtime James friend and business partner] Maverick Carter as the coach and then LeBron could have just told him what to do.”
The 39-year-old superstar, already the league’s oldest active player, just inked a two-year, $101.4 million new deal in free agency that will keep him in Los Angeles through the 2025-26 NBA season.
The 6-foot-9 superstar may not be his prime All-Defensive self, but he’s still one of the NBA’s top scorers. For the 47-35 Lakers in 2023-24, James averaged 25.7 points while slashing .540/.410/.750, 8.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.5 blocks a night.
If James is the Lakers’ top decision-maker, it might behoove him to figure out some of his depth issues. The team needs more playmaking, further perimeter defensive help, and more three point shooting.
