“If LeBron James averages less than 25 points next year, he should retire”: Former teammate of the Lakers star claims LeBron’s championship window will close if he declines too much

Channing Frye insists that LeBron James should retire next season if he can’t average 25 points per game. He cites Lakers’ lack of trade capital.

The Lakers’ playoff exit sent sports bettors across the world scurrying to their bank statements last night. It was the first time in his 18-year career that LeBron has been eliminated in the first round. This happened despite the Lakers entering the series as -110 betting favorites.

Injuries played a huge role in this series as well. Chris Paul got a shoulder injury in Game 1 of the series from LeBron James that he’s still recovering from. Anthony Davis missed 2-and-half games with his own groin problems.

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As things stand, the Lakers seem to be in need of fitter injury reinforcements and a better roster overall. However, getting this together could prove to be tough for Rob Pelinka given the free agent market.

Channing Frye says LeBron James should retire if he can’t score 25 points per game next year

LeBron finished 2020-21 with a scoring average of 25 ppg. James has not averaged fewer points per game than 2020-21 since his rookie season. This year is the first piece of conclusive evidence that Father Time has slowed down LeBron James.

His former teammate Channing Frye is a little concerned with how the 2021-22 season will shape up for the Lakers star. In particular, he’s thinking about whether the Lakers can muster enough signings and trades to keep them in contention:

“If LeBron is averaging less than 25 points a game… I think he should retire… Who are the Lakers bringing in or trading for that can put him over over the top? Have you seen the free agents? There’s nobody.”

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Channing’s point is largely that LeBron should give up his championship hopes if he can’t be the #1 option next year. This is a realistic outlook to have, but it also amounts to telling LeBron what he should do. And nobody in their right mind should be telling LeBron what to do in basketball.