Lakers News: Richard Jefferson Identifies The Worst Misstep Of LeBron James's Career
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Your Los Angeles Lakers have stumbled to a 5-11 start thus far in the 2022-23 NBA season. With LeBron James absent, L.A. has gone 3-2, though it seems he may return tonight.
Recently on "NBA Today," ESPN panelist Richard Jefferson, who played with James on the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015-17, spoke out about what he believes may just be the 18-time All-Star forward's biggest misstep during a storied 20-year league career.
"I haven't spoken to him but I feel like him signing that extension was the biggest mistake he's made in his career," Jefferson said. "It was just so confusing to me... I think he did it because he was committed to the organization: 'I know you've got two picks, I'm going to show you my commitment to you so that you can go make some moves. Because we knew what this time was... last year, and they haven't added any tangible pieces... The biggest confusion of all of the extensions [was team vice president of basketball operations] Rob Pelinka."
"So when you look at all of the moves that were made by Rob Pelinka, [he] doesn't even deserve an extension," Jefferson continued. "This is LeBron James, arguably the greatest player we have ever seen... and this is the roster that you put next to him. The formula has been shown for two decades, how to win with LeBron, and they have thrown that all away."
James inked a two-year, $97.1 million extension that could keep him in Los Angeles through 2024-25. He has a player option for that last year, which will cover his age-40 season.
"The big reason why LeBron James has won championships [is] because he has shooters on the floor," co-panelist Ogwumike noted. And if you don't design a team with shooters on the floor, then you're wasting one of the best talents we have ever seen."
At present, the Lakers remain the worst-shooting team in the league this season, per ESPN. Los Angeles is connecting on a league-low 30.6% of its three-point attempts. The team's 30.0 triple tries per night rank 28th, above just the Chicago Bulls and, in a bit of a surprise, the Atlanta Hawks.
