LeBron James and Lakers Relationship Has ‘Run Its Course’, Says Kendrick Perkins

During the offseason, LeBron James and his camp gave out signals to the Los Angeles Lakers to the tune of potentially looking at options to sign with another team.

Some teams did draw interest, but everyone knew the 4-time NBA champion was not going to leave the purple and gold franchise, which he eventually did when he activated his $53 million option.

Since then, James has missed more than a month due to sciatica, and after returning, has effectively become the team's third option behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

He claimed he did not have a problem with it and was ready to play any role the team wanted him to enact. However, their recent blowout losses have proven that some problems are deeper than what seems on the surface.

When he's not engaged or feels some type of way it speaks in his body language… LeBron and the Lakers relationship has run its course, and they need to figure out a solution, and the solution is him not being in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform.

Kendrick Perkins said on First Take

The former champion claimed that he knows how LeBron James behaves when things are not going in the right direction. Perkins saw that body language return during the Lakers' Christmas Day blowout loss to the Houston Rockets.

All of this has the ESPN analyst believing that his former teammate and friend needs to move out of the Lakers if he wants to get his joy back playing basketball.

Skip Bayless points out LeBron James' lackluster defensive performances

The Los Angeles Lakers gave the sports media world enough to talk about after their embarrassing loss to the Houston Rockets. Longtime LeBron James critic, Skip Bayless, decided to go after the superstar and point out one glaring area of concern.

LeBron James' defense has been lackluster (Image via Lakers Daily/X)

LeBron is now ranked in individual defensive win shares, 426th in the NBA, almost at the bottom… It's a miracle that they are 19-10.

Skip Bayless said on Gil's Arena

The 74-year-old believes James' lack of effort is so glaring that when combined with the defensive lapses of his teammates, it leads to blowout losses like the one they suffered on Christmas.

Their wins so far have come when one or the other player went on a hot streak, which became too much for their opponents to control. Bayless thinks that if an opponent were to limit the Lakers offensively, they would be easy to defeat.

Austin Reaves' injury could complicate matters for LeBron James and Lakers

When LeBron James was out injured, Austin Reaves established himself as the second-best scoring option on the Lakers. Not only did he prove that he could single-handedly lead the team, but he has also developed exceptional chemistry with Luka Doncic to be the perfect running mate.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been diagnosed with a grade 2 left gastrocnemius strain and will be reevaluated in four weeks.

Shams Charania revealed on X

This news will be a cause for worry in the facilities in and around Crypto.com Arena, as the guard was crucial to the team's offensive and defensive game plans.

Now, they have to work on how to maximize their current roster to ensure they keep winning games with their star guard out. That could also mean that LeBron James will be tasked to take on a bigger offensive role.

Now, the 4-time league MVP will have to increase not just his offensive production, but also his defensive intensity, as Reaves was the best defender among the three top players the Lakers have.

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