LeBron James had always retained an upper hand among players in influencing the Los Angeles Lakers’ management decisions, including their trade choices. For this reason, many even consider James an unofficial General Manager for the team, earning him the moniker ‘LeGM.’ After the Lakers returned to their winning ways and recently defeated the Dallas Mavericks in a 127-110 win last night, LBJ once again faced similar questions.
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While catching up to watching Bronny play for the USC, James was answering media questions about the Lakers’ trade moves for this season. To everyone’s surprise, LeBron refused to comment on this topic and promptly replied,
“I don’t play fantasy basketball. What I do is focus on the guys here in uniform and focus on work every day.”
LeBron James even remarked that talking about potential trades for his team could be disrespectful and dip the morale of his fellow teammates. Dave McMenamin uploaded the video clip of LeBron James’ media interaction on X (formerly Twitter).
LeBron James, when asked if his team needs moves as the trade deadline approaches, said: “I don’t play fantasy basketball” and vowed to continue to work hard with the group L.A. has pic.twitter.com/sjq6Bh9MrB
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 18, 2024
James seems content with the recent wins of the Lakers this season. The 4x NBA champion wants to continue working hard to keep up with his team’s winning ways and support the group in LA to maintain the team chemistry and morale required to rank wins. Well, LeBron’s answer could be interpreted to be quite ironic, given he has always shown his involvement in his franchise’s trade and other managerial decisions.
LeBron James always had an influence in the front offices of the teams and franchises he had represented. In a 2018 interview with ESPN, James confirmed the same, saying, “I’ve always recruited. I’ve been trying to get guys to come play with me since, like, 2007. I’ve got rejected a lot. But I’ve also have not got rejected a lot.”
James was involved in the recruiting of Anthony Davis to the Lakers in 2019 and had also vocally lobbied for reuniting with Kyrie Irving or signing Damian Lillard or Jimmy Butler to the Lakers. Nevertheless, maybe the King’s silence or refusal to comment on Lakers’ trade moves might be one of the ingenious strategies of LeGM.
Kyrie Irving once confirmed LeBron James to be the “LeGM”
Kyrie Irving, who spent three seasons with LeBron James at the Cleveland Cavaliers, once confirmed that James is indeed the “Le GM” for his team. In an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast, Irving confirmed that James was indeed called ‘LeGM’ as he was the binding force behind putting the squad together. To notice LeBron James taking a different stance this time might also be one of his umpteen managerial tactics.
Furthermore, former Lakers player Jordan Clarkson also credited the GM LeBron James for winning the 2020 chip with the Lakers. The Lakers traded Clarkson for James to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018.
The now Utah #00 believes that if the Lakers had not made this trade move to acquire the veteran talent, the Lakers would never have won a championship as early as 2020 with their young squad. Hence, LeBron’s arrival and subsequent influence on the roster was a positive thing that the Lakers banked heavily on for their rejuvenated success.
