The Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers showed the world the blueprint of how to build a team around LeBron James. They were perennial NBA Finals candidates, and the structure of their roster was quite similar.
James isn’t in his mid-twenties anymore, so maybe expecting him to shoulder such a heavy load isn’t realistic. But he’s still one of the greatest everand continues to deliver at an elite level.
That’s why former teammate Richard Jefferson believes signing a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers was the biggest mistake he’s ever made, as Rob Pelinka has blatantly failed to build a good team around him.
NBA News: Richard Jefferson Claims Signing An Extension Was LeBron’s Biggest Career Mistake
“I feel like him signing that extension was the biggest mistake that he’s made in his career,” Jefferson said.“I stand by that; signing this extension last summer, it was just so confusing to me.”
“I think he did it because he was committed to the organization,” Jefferson explained. “I know you got two picks, I’m going to show you my commitment to you, so that you can go make some moves. We knew what this team was a year ago, last year. They haven’t added any tangible pieces. The formula has been shown for two decades, how to win with LeBron. And they have thrown that all the way.”
The Lakers blew up their NBA championship roster just one year after winning the title. That team made sense, and they had developed strong rapport with each other. That’s not the case with this squad.
If anything, Pelinka has proven to be one of the worst GMs in recent memory and wouldn’t even have a job if it wasn’t for his close relationship with Kobe Bryant and Jeanie Buss. Unfortunately, that’s costing LeBronthe twilight years of his career.