Paul Pierce Says Lakers Need to Move on From LeBron James

Despite securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference behind a 50-32 record, the Los Angeles Lakers got handily demolished by the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in a five-game first round playoff series encounter.

Maximum-salaried All-Stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James offered little defensive resistance to the Timberwolves, and head coach JJ Redick's distrust of his traditional centers doomed L.A. to vulnerability in the paint.

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Although the Lakers fell in a narrow home loss, 103-96, to the Timberwolves on Wednesday, Minnesota always felt like it was in the driver's seat, setting the tone with blistering downhill offense and dominating the glass with its superior size and length.

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Hall of Fame former champion Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce, now an analyst for Fox Sports 1, thinks his hometown Lakers have to ditch LeBron James.

Paul Pierce says it’s time for the Lakers to move on from the LeBron James era

“If the Lakers want to get back to being a championship contender, you have to get out of the constraints of the LeBron James era.”

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“This is what needs to happen: if the Lakers want to get back to being a championship contender moving forward, you have to get out of the constraints of the LeBron James era,” Pierce said. "He's had a grasp [over] the whole organization, bear-hugging them, for so long now. He's done some wonderful things for the Lakers organization. 100 percent. They're probably gonna build a statue of LeBron... I'm just saying, they have to say, 'We appreciate your services, I think we should move on.'"

After eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances (and three victories) with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, James signed a maximum free agent contract to join the Lakers in the summer of 2018.

Alongside now-10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis, James led Los Angeles to a 52-19 record and a title in 2019-20. The dynamic duo brought the Lakers to another Western Conference Finals berth in 2023. But L.A. has fallen on hard times of late, having been beaten 4-1 in consecutive first-round series across the past two seasons.

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"It's time for the Luka era now, because I don't know if you can play them together moving forward," Pierce said. "You have to have a certain type of team around Luka to win. And him with LeBron, you won't be able to create that."

James, 40, has more limitations now than he did in his prime. He remains a terrific offensive specimen, but he tires late in games, and his defense is no longer at the elite level it was in his Heat-era prime. Doncic thrives surrounded by high-level defenders and rim-rolling big men.

Pierce is not without a dog in this fight. A longtime direct rival of James' in the Eastern Conference while a 10-time All-Star on the Boston Celtics, the 6-foot-7 swingman is also a major nemesis of the Lakers in general, having faced off against his hometown squad twice in the NBA Finals. Though Pierce's Celtics won the 2008 NBA Finals, they fell to the Kobe Bryant/Pau Gasol-era Lakers in a seven-game series circa 2010.

Across the brisk five-game series, James notched averages of 25.4 points on .489/.357/.775 shooting splits, plus 9.0 boards, 5.6 dimes, 2.0 swipes and 1.8 rejections. Still, James' fatigue was evident, especially during late-game situations.

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