Mar 4, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves the ball up court against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The sustained mediocrity of the Los Angeles Lakers has increased the team’s dependency on LeBron James. Consequently, the 39-year-old is having to often become the outcome decider for his franchise while playing through injuries. This enhanced load on the 4x champion infuriated Kenyon Martin as the former NBA star shared his two cents in the latest episode of Gil’s Arena.

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The 46-year-old openly blamed the Lakers’ front office and their general manager Rob Pelinka for the growing concern surrounding James. Following this, Martin shed light on their shortcomings as he identified the lack of ‘right guys’ within the roster as the root cause of the ongoing problem.

“Management. All of y’all are at fault. For not making moves, for not getting another scorer, for not getting another guy that can take some of that load off. Go get your offensively, aggressive wing which you ain’t gotta worry about night in, night out if he gonna get his 17 shots up…But they didn’t do that, so LeBron is stuck with this load that he has to carry at 39 years old,” he mentioned.

The statement summarized the franchise’s current state as they seemingly failed to secure a turnaround like they did in the previous campaign. In early 2023, the Lakers made impressive trades under the stewardship of Pelanika to change their fortunes. After then qualifying for the playoffs through a play-in game, the organization went on to defy the odds by going all the way to the Western Conference Finals before they were eventually defeated.

This season, a rise of similar stature remains highly unlikely to happen. Despite how good the team looked last season, they have shown no sign of being anywhere near the same stratosphere since. At the moment, the Lakers sit 10th in the Western Conference, holding on tightly to the last play-in spot available. Given that the 11th-seeded Jazz are far behind them (as per NBA.com), they will likely make the tournament. However, what happens from there is anyone’s guess.

What’s next for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers?

Credits: USA TODAY SPORTS

Despite winning the in-season tournament in December, question marks have remained over the potential of the squad. The lack of balance between offensive threats and defensive enforcers is glaring within the roster. Subsequently, the team lingers at the 10th spot on the conference table as per the official website of the NBA, following a 34-30 run.

Hence, the supporters will need to bear with the current squad till the end of the ongoing season. Yet, a sea of changes may take place in the off-season as the franchise aims to retain its talismanic figure. Amidst this, the dynamics of sharing a court with James has its ramifications, as per Kendall Gill.

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“It’s very hard to play with LeBron James. The reason why is because you have to completely change your game. LeBron is really the de facto point guard even though he’s six-foot-nine, 270 pounds, he’s going to have the basketball most of the time,” he once told TJ Sports.

The Lakers have evidently submerged themselves within layers of difficulties. With each passing day, the challenges seem to only further increase for the franchise. The path ahead remains an uphill one for them as the fans hope for a better series of outcomes in the future.