No one wants to come to Los Angeles to play with LeBron James. Or at least that’s the latest debate show straw-man argument Lakers fans have been endlessly assaulted with since James inked his four-year, $153.3 million contract last summer.
A few players around the league have downplayed that idea, while others have reinforced it. For the players that don’t want to play with James, Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss has one message: stay where you are.
In an interview on “The Lowe Post” with Zach Lowe of ESPN, Buss reiterated that she has no interest in signing players that don’t want to play with once-in-a-generation players like James (or Kobe Bryant):
I guess that means no Kevin Durant, eh?
She also told Lowe that she has no regrets about not taking a “shortcut” to sign or trade for an All-Star player to pair with James this summer, and said that she likes how the team is developing without one:
The Lakers will have somewhere in the ballpark of $38.2 million to spend on an All-Star player like Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard this summer. They could also use that cap space to absorb a contract back in a trade for an All-Star caliber player like Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol or Bradley Beal.
In other words, the Lakers have options and they seem to know that, which is why they’re willing to stay patient with their young players. Unless a trade that would put them in immediate contention for a championship materializes, expect the front office to stay the course with the steady development of the team, and Buss to be just fine with that.
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