Here, LeBron. It’s deja vu again.
In the tumultuous and sharp decline of the Los Angeles Lakers over the past few months, LeBron James has returned to the same self-denial, an insult to your intelligence that can blame anyone but him who used it for such a bad impact a decade ago when he joined to the Miami Heath with those famous words about transferring their talents to South Beach.
His current dilemma went from bad to worse over the weekend, with LA giving up the Clippers and Pelicans, losing to mediocre top teams that sparked the Lakers’ idea of flirting with not even playing.
Against the backdrop of this struggle – due to LeBron’s insistence last season to have Russell Westbrook – media reports and LeBron’s not-so-subtle signs over the past week include:
- LeBron informed everyone that he would be ready to play for Cleveland again. Which, you know, would mean leaving LA
- He said LeBron was unhappy with the lack of moves in the Lakers front office’s exchange deadline, a disappointment that ignored the fact that there was nothing to be done given Westbrook’s massive contact and the court’s highly disappointing reality.
- LeBron praised Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti, a prelude to the report that LeBron actually wanted Presti to replace Lakers General Rob Pelinka. Which, you know, doesn’t mean it’s all rainbows and puppies in LeBron’s land.
This went so badly that his agent Rich Paul had to step down a few days ago, making it clear, along with the Lakers, that there is no animosity, everything is great, everyone is on the same page.
Just a public statement that has nothing to see here, which means that there really is something to see here.
So what did LeBron do this weekend to continue? He went from attacking Pelinka for what he actually blamed on LeBron, to criticizing the media for what – you guessed it – LeBron was also doing.
“I do not understand how some of my comments about [All-Star] the weekend was spent in a very different area of ”Can I retire as a gentleman?” he said. “I never said I would see myself playing in a gentleman’s uniform.”
Hmm, right.
There were also:
“You guys take some of my words and twist them in different places where they shouldn’t go.”
Of course, LeBron. You did it.
The thing is, we’ve been here before, and that’s the real concern. LeBron’s need to develop drama this season and then take an aggressive defensive stance when that drama gets out of his control is very similar to his first-year approach in Miami, which I covered as a beat columnist.
This whole thing didn’t end well. And this season – and his next in LA – they won’t do it if he doesn’t apply the lessons from 2010-11 to 2022.
Put it this way: It’s crazy to do the same thing over and over and expect different results. So, here are some tips to give common sense to this professional organization of the Lakers and the leader who is on its unstable leadership.
LeBron is great for all time – almost the best of all time – and, as far as any of us can really tell from a distance, a good man. I personally like it. So this advice comes from a place of authenticity, not a lure.
LeBron James, starting now, must:
1. Take responsibility. This mess is LeBron’s, not Pelinka’s, not the media’s, not even Westbrook’s, despite his brutal game. LeBron may argue that he is not a shadow CEO, but remember before the deal last summer that brought Russ to LA that LeBron had a meeting weeks earlier to say how the Anthony Davis-LeBron-Westbrook partnership would work. .
As in: He created it before it happened. Like, well, GM.
He made his call. It did not work out. Accept it.
2. Arrange things on the court, not Machiavellian maneuvers off the court. Stop trying to play a major media manipulator. Stop throwing your frustration at others who inevitably obey your will. Stop being angry that people – Lakers and members of the media – take you seriously. Stop the whole drama off the court. Take him to court. You made this bed. Play as well as you can.
3. Do not offend our intelligence. Those surrounded by yes-men and yes-women can often lose track of the fact that we, society as a whole, are mostly not stupid. We can hear the contradictions, see through the possible villains and react accordingly. People often don’t like politicians because they are full of it and ask us to pretend they aren’t. Avoid this trap.
All these things – machinations, guilt, the need to point the finger elsewhere so as not to look in the mirror – sow drama and discord. LeBron James may be able to handle this weight without the impact of the court – he could not in 2011 – but most of his teammates will not. LeBron James’s gravitational pull is too strong. The physics of being in its orbit, for better or worse, is astounding and brutal to try to fight.
King James? Everything is fine.
Drama King James? Much less effective.
In Miami, LeBron was like a superhero who didn’t use his gifts. He had incredible powers, of course, but every time he tried to use them, he unleashed more than he and the people around him could handle. It’s been a decade, but he’s making those mistakes again because, like that first year in Miami, LeBron has bitten more than he can chew.
Then the world reacted under the pressure and anxiety of how he left Cleveland. Now the pressure and fear of his NBA career is coming to an end, and the mistake he made in entrusting valuable last seasons to Russell Westbrook as a teammate.
This season of the Lakers is unlikely to end well, and next year looks just as terrible.
But LeBron has proven that people like me are wrong before. To do this again, he will have to apply the same lesson he once told me he learned after failing the finals in 2011.
To forget about all the things off the court and to deal – whatever it is – with the thing he is exceptional at: basketball.