The new season is fast approaching and LeBron James is also gearing up to turn things around for the Los Angeles Lakers after a major disappointing season, where they neither ended up in the playoffs nor the play-ins. LeBron has signed a new extension which amounts to $97.1 million as he sets up to feature for his 20th year in the NBA.
The King is eager to win another NBA Championship with the Purple and Gold army as he would like to finish his last few years in the game with dominance. However despite the new contract most experts feel that the Lakers hardly have any chance at winning the title while some are not even giving them a chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
The Lakers have not improved their roster this offseason apart from signing a player here and there but there has not been such major urgency in the trade market for Lakers. They have a new coach in Darwin Ham and things should change at the franchise but without new players the result wont improve drastically.
Recently in a podcast called ‘Odd Couple’, imminent NBA writer Mark Medina feels that the LeBron james contract extension feels more like how the Lakers handed out a similar thing to Kobe Bryant during his last couple of years. Considering every aspect in place Medina does not feel that LeBron and Lakers will get anywhere close to the NBA Championship.
“I always subscribe to that old adage that you never bet against LeBron James, but I think in this case, because he is entering his 20th season and because the Lakers have so many roster holes to address, I don’t think LeBron is gonna sniff another championship,” Mark Medina stated.
He then explained his stance on the comparison between Kobe Bryant’s contract and LeBron James’ contract at the Lakers and feels there are parallels. “I think for better or for worse, there’s gonna be some parallels to LeBron’s latest extension to what Kobe Bryant had with his last deal which felt like it was a farewell tour more than anything else,” Medina concluded.
The Lakers have struggled keeping their players healthy. A healthy Anthony Davis and a decent Russell Westbrook and pair them with LeBron James is good enough to take the Lakers to the playoffs. But Anthony Davis simply has not managed to hold his body together as he gets injured incessantly and that costs the team majorly. This year he is back in much better shape and is hoping to not miss any games. Similarly for Westbrook, he saw a massive dip in form last season which he will be trying to improve this year and help LeBron elevate this team.
