When he left the Eastern Conference to sign with Los Angeles Lakers last summer, LeBron James knew what was waiting for him in the Western Conference – a bunch of strong title contenders and the reigning NBA champions, Golden State Warriors, who defeated him thrice in the last four NBA Finals. James is aware that even if he doubled his effort on both ends of the floor, the Lakers’ only have a minimal chance of winning the NBA championship title, especially with their roster mostly consisting of young players.
However, worse things happened in the 2018-19 NBA season as the Lakers missed the Western Conference Playoffs for the sixth straight year. In an interview with Howard Beck of Bleacher Report , LeBron James admitted that, in his previous stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, he had never got involved when it comes to adding talents that could help him contend for the NBA championship title. However, James revealed that things will change in the 2019 NBA offseason as he plans to be “active” in helping the Lakers recruit players that could help the “franchise get better.”
“I’ve never played fantasy basketball,” James said. “But I will be as active as I need to be for this franchise to get better. That’s why I came here. I came here to win. And obviously, we need to get better, as far as our personnel. We have an opportunity to get better. And there’s a lot of talent out there, and a lot of guys that can help our franchise. So I’ll be as active as I need to be for us to get better and go from there.”
LeBron James has heard the people that say that stars don’t want to join him on the Lakers. He thinks that narrative is funny, and that the free agents definitely still want to play with him https://t.co/NOMzZr0sDc pic.twitter.com/UKHvdINAez
— Silver Screen and Roll (@LakersSBN) April 3, 2019
LeBron James’ first year with the Lakers has been a huge disappointment and he will never let those things happen again in the second, third, and fourth year that he’s wearing purple and gold. James said that the summer of 2019 will be “critical” for himself and his future. At this point in his NBA career, James wants to maximize his prime years, and the Lakers could only make possible by surrounding him with at least two legitimate NBA superstars.
Despite how the 2018-19 NBA season turned out, LeBron James is very optimistic that he, President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson, and General Manager Rob Pelinka can make the Lakers’ franchise great again. The Lakers have plenty of ways to improve their roster in the 2019 NBA offseason. Aside from having the salary cap space to offer max contracts to the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Kemba Walker, and Klay Thompson in free agency, the Lakers also have a plethora of trade assets to engage in a blockbuster deal next summer.
