L.A. Lakers franchise star LeBron James has been known in the past to strongly voice his opinions to the front-office over roster moves via trade or free-agency.
However, according to NBA writer Mark Medina, the 4x NBA champion is believed to have taken a step back, remaining ‘largely hands off’ after a move he advocated for in 2021 proved to be hugely unsuccessful.
NBA news – L.A. Lakers
One of the NBA’s most successful franchises, the L.A. Lakers, have already begun to shape their roster ahead of the start of the 2023-24 season as they look to cement themselves as contenders in the Western Conference.
Ahead of free-agency which begun last Friday, L.A. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka told reporters that the team wanted to “keep this core of guys together” while also looking to add additional pieces to fine-tune a squad that made it all the way to the Western Conference finals.
The Lakers’ supposed preference for valuing continuity was realized when they chose to exercise Jarred Vanderbilt’s team option, and re-signed two of their key playoff performers in Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, while also managing to sign D’Angelo Russell to a discounted deal.
Senior NBA reporter Jake Fischer praised the Lakers for their “marked improvements” on the opening day of free-agency where they picked up former Miami Heat guard, Gabe Vincent, on a 3-year, $33 million deal, as well as adding Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes to near veteran-minimum deals.
According to a post from LeBron James on social media, he seems to be excited about the newly-formed roster, although how much of an influence he had in the decision-making process remains unclear.
What has Mark Medina said about LeBron James’ involvement with the front office?
Medina believes that LeBron James has taken a step back from his past involvement with the front office after learning his lesson over the failed Russell Westbrook tenure in L.A.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: “As far as having specific conversations with the front office, he has been largely hands off. I think the reason for that is all parties involved learned the consequences of getting Russell Westbrook, and you’ll certainly hear different versions of how much did LeBron advocate for him.
“The Lakers would say that LeBron very much advocated for him and that’s really why they pulled the trigger on him instead of going with that Buddy Hield deal. People around LeBron will say he gave the Lakers front office a vote of confidence for Russ, but he gave a vote of confidence for other options too.”
“I think when you look at the political dynamics with this, clearly LeBron doesn’t want to be giving any perception that his hands are on the roster, and then if any things don’t work out that it’s his fault, the front office have the job description of constructing the basketball roster as they see fit.”
L.A. Lakers – Running it back + upgrades
The purple and gold front-office ensured that they prioritized re-signing restricted free agents, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, to new deals.
In the 2023 post season Rui Hachimura came alive and was a key part of the Lakers success during the playoffs. As per ESPN, in only 24.3 minutes he averaged 12.8 PPG and 3.6 RPG, shooting a healthy 55.7% from the field, and 48.7% from beyond the arc. Similarly, Austin Reaves posted 16.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 4.6 APG on 44.3% shooting from three-point range.
On the other hand, Jarred Vanderbilt enjoyed a career year in points and assists, where according to StatMuse, he averaged 7.9 PPG and 2.4 APG to go with 7.5 RPG. Mainly utilized for his defense, he established himself as a key rotation player for the Lakers.
After losing Dennis Schroeder and Lonnie Walker IV in free-agency, the Lakers upgraded the point-guard position by bringing in Miami Heat starting point-guard Gabe Vincent on a 3-year, $33 million deal.
In the 2022-23 playoffs, he helped the Heat make a run to the NBA finals with his contribution of 12.7 PPG and 3.5 APG on 37.8% from three, cementing the point-guard position as an area of strength in this new-look Lakers roster after they chose to also retain D’Angelo Russell.
Russell averaged 17.8 PPG, 6.2 APG and 3.0 RPG during the regular season, but dropped off and struggled to find his rhythm during the playoffs.
Other departures from the team include Malik Beasley, Troy Brown Jr., and Mo Bamba.
As per Spotrac, the Lakers still have three more roster spots available to meet the 14-man NBA roster minimum. The Lakers aren’t done yet, though, as they are in need of another big man with only Anthony Davis and Hayes currently on the roster who can play that position.
Nevertheless, the Lakers have already made substantial improvements to a roster that shocked everyone when they made a deep run in the playoffs, and it would appear that LeBron James has left the front-office to make all the decisions this time around.
With these additions, could the Lakers look to go one step further and compete for an NBA-record 18th championship? With LeBron James’ window certainly winding down, there is no better time than now to try.