With LeBron James completing his 8-year tenure with the Lakers and his future in the league hanging in the balance, a recurring debate has resurfaced. While Stephen A. Smith strongly suggested the Lakers took LeBron James for granted, NBA legend Kenny Smith shut it down with his argument.

Featuring on ESPN’s First Take, Kenny Smith disagreed with Stephen A’s take.  He argued that the Lakers made several moves to facilitate LeBron James throughout his tenure. He mentioned the trade of Anthony Davis, along with the blockbuster trade to replace Davis with Luka Doncic, to support his claim.

Smith also highlighted the Lakers’ efforts to strengthen the roster around him with the likes of Rui Hachimura. Above all, the 61-year-old also mentioned the draft of Bronny James, LeBron's son, adding, “When they needed to draft your son, they did it.” 

Considering these moves, Smith questioned whether James has reciprocated by helping the franchise win championships. “Are you doing things to help me win championships?” he asked.

However, before posing this question, Smith attempted to put LeBron James and NBA legends on the same scale.

He brought up his playing years with Michael Jordan in college and Hakeem Olajuwon in the NBA and said, “Never in the 10 years that I played with them did I hear the words ‘my team’ or ‘taken for granted’  because the things they worried about were not cookies.”

The “cookies” comment appeared to be an indirect jab at LeBron, who reportedly left the Heat organization over a cookie issue. Nevertheless, as a bottom line, he said “no” to the ‘Taken for granted’ narrative.

Kenny Smith defends the Los Angeles Lakers' front office

During his argument, Kenny Smith also went after the Lakers' GM, Rob Pelinka. As per Smith, Pelinka has always made moves to keep the Lakers 'relevant.'

Since Pelinka took over the GM’s office in 2017, the Lakers have made a lot of big trades.

At the same time, the team also won a championship in 2020 with LeBron James winning the Final MVP and ending the team’s 10-year championship drought. 

Following that, the team made it to the playoffs every year except for 2022. Anyway, with Bron completing year 23 and entering free agency this offseason, the superstar’s return remains a question mark.

Speaking of the Oklahoma City Thunder series sweep, James said, “I got a lot of time, I’ll sit back and recalibrate with my family.” 

Even if he decides to return, will the Lakers re-sign him? Will the superstar look for a new home? It remains the biggest story this offseason.

Read more at the Air Jordan Chronicles!

Written by

Shahul Hameed

Edited by

Koushik Biswas