With LeBron James opting into his over $50 million player option for next season, the Los Angeles Lakers officially have two of the biggest names in the sport on their roster in James and guard Luka Doncic.
However, Doncic’s presence puts James in a position that he’s never found himself in throughout his 23-year career in the NBA: he’s playing second fiddle to Doncic in terms of importance to his organization, per one prominent insider.
Between this and the inevitability that he’s near the end of his storied career, the Lakers have decided not to ask for James’ opinion when it comes to roster building this offseason, per one prominent insider.
“They’re not consulting with LeBron this year,” reported ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne on Monday.
Fans reacted to the shocking news on social media.
“They finally came to their senses and realized hes a fraud that will NEVER be on Kobes level,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Good. LeBron didn’t win the Lakers a real championship. Made the team draft his son and lie about it and gave away their future,” someone else added.
“If true, then it suggests the inevitable rebuild around Luca is well underway. As things stand, James is unlikely to be in LA this time next season,” another fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see what decisions the Lakers make now that they aren’t running anything by James first.
