LeBron James is approaching season no. 22 in his journey in the NBA. With the Boston Celtics becoming the new standard, basketball fans are looking towards the Los Angeles Lakers to bring the fight back in the NBA title supremacy. However, the introduction of the 2nd Apron has led to teams taking a far less conservative approach to team building. That has become a problem for the superstar as he approaches his final years.
This topic was brought up for discussion in yesterday’s edition of NBA Today. After others gave their opinions, James’ former teammate Richard Jefferson opined on the same.
We put way too much pressure on LeBron and the Lakers. You look at an incomplete team with an incomplete roster, they don’t have enough dogs. The Lakers are three all-star caliber players away. That’s how far the Lakers are away from being on the same tier as the defending champions.
Richard Jefferson said
He compared with the five All-Star caliber players on the Boston Celtics who led them to their 18th NBA title. In comparison, LeBron James and Anthony Davis alone won’t be enough against them. His thoughts stem from the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers did not upgrade their roster in the offseason.
They did draft two players, but one of them is Bronny James who will need time to develop. That leaves them essentially with exactly the same roster as last season. Not exactly confidence-inspiring for an NBA title run.
.@Rjeff24 on what it would take for the Lakers to win the title this upcoming season 👀
“You look at the defending champions, the Boston Celtics. The Lakers are three all-star caliber players away from being on their level.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/0ANphiWika
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 17, 2024
With a new head coach in the mix, Richard Jefferson feels they should have brought in All-Star players to help with the competitiveness. But doing so could have blown up their future, as would surpass the 2nd Apron which would trigger future restrictions.
Los Angeles Lakers building for post-LeBron James era
With the 2nd Apron penalties hanging over their heads, the Los Angeles Lakers made a conscious decision to not demolish their intentions to be continuously competitive. This led them to stay away from surpassing the vaunted 2nd Apron by even asking LeBron James to take a slightly lower salary.
With that move, they avoided hampering future trade and free agent restrictions. That way, they will be able to continue to tweak the roster as per the needs of the team. Had they gone all out, they could have won an NBA title or two. But their future would have been compromised to the extent that they would have needed years to recover back to being competitive.
The 2nd Apron has harsher penalties for repeat violations. Suggesting that the likes of the Boston Celtics will have to continue with their current roster for a long time. Those reasons are why the Lakers stuck to what they have. After James retires, they will look for their next superstar to team up with Anthony Davis.
