“Which Means an NBA Title”: Putting His ‘Distaste For LeBron James Aside, Skip Bayless Praises Rob Pelinka’s $2,709,849 Move

Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless has always been one of the most vehement critics of the Lakers star LeBron James. Bayless has never spared James of scathing criticism, even when LBJ surpassed Kareem-Abdul Jabbar to become the leading scorer in NBA career points. In a recent segment of Undisputed, Bayless praised the big off-season moves made by Rob Pelinka to upscale the Lakers for the upcoming season. Skip Bayless particularly appreciated Pelinka for signing Christian Wood, who would be drawing a $2,709,849 in salary for the 2023-24 season.

Skip Bayless has formed his personality for being an unequivocal critic of LeBron James. Furthermore, he extended this criticism for the Lakers team as well when Pelinka traded Russel Westbrook following unsatisfactory performances. However, Pelinka’s recent moves to turn around the Lakers roster since the All-Star Game 2023 have made Skip’s head turn in appreciation for the Lakers executive.

Skip Bayless reacts to the Lakers’ latest signing Christian Wood and praises Rob Pelinka for ambitious off-season moves

Skip Bayless has recently reacted to the Lakers’ big off-season moves in this off-season. Very recently, Rob Pelinka signed Christian Wood to Los Angeles, in a two-year contract worth $5,745,889 as a free agent. Though Skip is not a huge fan of Wood as a player, he seems excited about the prospect of the former Houston Rockets player alongside LeBron James. Wood always wanted to be a Laker and Skip’s recent statement seemed like he aspired the power forward to improve his performances at Los Angeles.

“Often times, a Christian Wood would put on the purple and gold at what used to be called Staples, and walk out on the floor and say, ‘Wait a second, that’s LeBron James over there.’ And all of a sudden, you start shooting that 3, your hand shaking a little bit, and you don’t shoot 38% from three. I have seen it happen over and over again.” 

In his recent series of tweets as well, Skip expressed his disappointment over the Lakers signing Christian Wood. In the previous season, Wood averaged 17 points and 7 assists per game, while having a three-point shooting range of 38%. However, under the tutelage of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, there is plenty of room for the forward to regain his form. Besides this, Skip Bayless also praised executive Rob Pelinka for his incredible off-season moves. As per Skip, the Lakers are in contention for the NBA title next season, given the team that they are trying to rebuild. After re-signing Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russel, the Lakers prove their credibility further to validate Skip’s statements.

“The point is, they re- signed Austin Reaves, and Hachimura, and D’Angelo, who has extreme skills. I know he comes and goes because he is not the meanly toughest kid. Jarred Vanderbilt is still there as a very meanly tough perimeter defender. Gabe Vincent, they added from Miami, he has got mental toughness and ability to heat up quickly…Once again I love what Pelinka has done. The Lakers have the making of a team that can contend for a Western Conference title which means an NBA title.” 

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While Skip might be all praises of the Lakers, none of his segments are complete without a mandatory LeBron James slander. As his concluding remarks, Bayless sparked a debate about whether James is one of the most conditioned players in the league. He started criticizing James’ performance against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference and questioned LBJ for showing ‘perpetual tiredness’ in the series. Guess it’s never easy for LeBron James to ever satisfy Skip Bayless!

Skip Bayless accused LeBron James of manufacturing comparisons of himself with Michael Jordan

LeBron James’ stellar career and achievements indeed calls for comparisons with the great Michael Jordan. The GOAT debate between LBJ and Jordan is quite a heated one, with Skip Bayless often siding against LeBron in this matter. With several experts and fans giving their own comparisons between these players, Bayless once accused LeBron James of manufacturing these comparisons in favor of himself.

For Skip, LeBron choosing the number ’23’ and calling himself as the ‘Chosen One’ were enough reasons for the Lakers legend to push himself in comparison with Michael Jordan. However, concluding his arguments against LeBron James, Bayless believes that the 4-time NBA champion indeed benefitted the most from all such comparisons around him.