LeBron James Reportedly Wants to Finish Career With Lakers Despite Ongoing Drama
By Austin Pert
The Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season despite the acquisition of LeBron James. President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson stepped down from his position at the end of this season, head coach Luke Walton also left, and the Frank Vogel hire has come with great uncertainty and turbulence.
Nonetheless, LeBron is reportedly committed to the Lakers.
Despite all of the drama currently surrounding the Lakers, LeBron has zero desire to leave and wants to finish his career in LA, per @joevardon.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 21, 2019
When the Lakers signed James to a four-year deal, they thought they'd be getting the player that could lead them out of the abyss and back to the promised land. After all, LeBron's teams had reached the NBA Finals each of the past eight years.
But instead of bringing an immediate impact to his new franchise, like he did with the Miami Heat in 2010 and the Cleveland Cavaliers when returning in 2014, Los Angeles couldn't escape their cycle of self-induced instability, finishing the 2018-19 season as the Western Conference's No. 10 seed amid constant tabloid-worthy drama.
"That looks like a football play on steroids... That's not the way the power structure should look."@ColinCowherd tries to understand the Lakers confusing power structure pic.twitter.com/zoBm4ugXOM
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 21, 2019
It's unclear what LeBron's goals are for the rest of his career. Even as the Lakers have evolved into a TMZ-punchline, Southern California could be a non-basketball related landing spot for James and his family, allowing the superstar to focus on business ventures outside of basketball such as the Space Jam sequel.