The fallout from ESPN’s report detailing internal tension between Jeanie Buss and LeBron James has sparked a strong response from someone who used to work inside the Lakers organization.
Buss was unhappy with James being “considered a savior for a floundering franchise when he arrived in 2018,” Baxter Holmes of ESPN reported and a former Lakers scout pushed back hard, telling Lakers Daily that James’ impact on the franchise is undeniable.
“The Lakers were a joke before LeBron signed with them,” the former scout said. “He saved them. Kobe’s last years were awful. Dwight [Howard] left. Pau [Gasol] left. LaMarcus [Aldridge] thought our presentation to him in free agency was one of the worst meetings he’s ever been in. Remember, LeBron didn’t sign with us because of Jeanie or Rob [Pelinka]. Magic [Johnson] made that happen and then Magic left because Rob was doing shady things behind his back.
“We were one of the best teams in the West in LeBron’s first year. Then he got hurt on Christmas against Golden State and we just never recovered. But guess what? Anthony Davis requested a trade specifically to us because he wanted to play with LeBron. So don’t tell me that Jeanie or Rob got AD. That was all LeBron. AD and Klutch [Sports Group] were telling other teams interested in trading for him that he was going to leave in a year. That was an easy trade for Rob to make.
“So LeBron and AD win us a ring in their first year together. And how do Jeanie and Rob repay them? By not getting them a center when they both literally begged for one. Yeah, the Russ (Russell Westbrook) trade was bad, but LeBron and AD wanted DeMar [DeRozan] first and Rob didn’t like that move.”
No doubt this saga is far from over.
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