Lakers Need Someone Within Who Can Stand Up To LeBron James, Says Pundit

It will be an interesting offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers following their 2021-22 NBA season debacle.

New faces are expected for next season, headlined no less by a new head coach.

It is a tricky situation where the Lakers need to take in a personality that will jive with resident star LeBron James.

Most know that this is a pertinent requirement to make things work with the four-time NBA champion.

However, in the eyes of renowned American sports scribe Roland Lazenby, the Lakers may want to consider taking in a person with a strong personality who can also stand up to James.

Lazenby recalled the time when someone of that caliber was needed when Phil Jackson coached the Lakers from 1999 to 2004.

He explained how the late Tex Winter became Jackson’s top assistant and how that worked for the Lakers.

“There was a saying around the Lakers: ‘We need somebody to stand up to Phil Jackson.’ At that time, Jerry West was the general manager of the Lakers, someone Jackson eased out after that first season,” Lazenby told Filipino sports reporter Brian Yalung.

“But suddenly, Tex Winter, my old friend, was the one guy on the Lakers who could stand up to Phil Jackson and say ‘Phil, your ego is out of control. Your sense of power… you are making a mistake.'"

The 69-year-old journalist also added how James can be faulted for the use of power in these circumstances.

Although he has done magnificent things, Lazenby shared how the Lakers may need someone who has the guts to put the multiple-time NBA MVP awardee in check.

“The saying in Los Angeles is that there is no one in the Lakers who can stand up and say to LeBron: ‘LeBron, you are out of control. You are getting ready to throw away a perfectly good roster, a perfectly good set of players,'” he bared.

Lazenby pointed out how Russell Westbrook just failed to blend in well and why the Lakers were not the right team for the All-Star guard.

“Westbrook was coming in as a wild leopard in all of nature to change his spots, particularly an old leopard. Westbrook has not changed his spots. He is still a pretty cynical guy. He is still a great player but he needs to be in a certain context. And the Lakers were not a good team for Russell Westbrook’s game,” he stated.

The full interview of Lazenby is set to be aired on April 29 on Sports Bytes PH hosted by Yalung.