Stephen A. Smith claims Lakers ‘don’t particularly like’ LeBron James

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As speculation continues to build on whether or not future NBA Hall of Famer LeBron James has potentially played his final game in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform, noted NBA Insider Stephen A. Smith is pouring fuel on the fire.

During a recent airing of First Take, the outspoken Smith hinted that the Lakers aren’t particularly fond of James and how he attempts to control the narrative surrounding himself.

“Have the Lakers taken LeBron James for granted? Sure, you could make that argument….they don’t particularly like him,” Smith said via First Take on X. “That’s what this is about, more so than anything else. They’ll never admit it. There will be denials all over the place.”

“When they made the trade for Russell Westbrook that ended up being disastrous, they felt like LeBron wasn’t accepting accountability,” Smith continued. “When there were narratives put out there that the organization was the issue and not LeBron James, they knew it wasn’t them putting that stuff out there. As great as he is, and he’s on the Mt. Rushmore of NBA basketball, one of the greatest players to ever live, he’s also one of the greatest manipulators of narratives we’ve ever seen. There’s very few people on planet Earth more skilled at controlling narratives than him.”

Meanwhile, James himself said that he’s not entirely sure what the future holds for him.

“What my future holds, I don’t know,” James said via Yahoo Sports. “Obviously, we’re still fresh from losing. I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds for me as it stands right now tonight. I got a lot of time, I’ll sit back and recalibrate with my family. Talk with them, spend some time with them and when the time comes, you guys will know.”

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