LeBron James’ former rival and former NBA champion, Paul Pierce, made a bold suggestion to “fix” the LA Lakers during the latest episode of Kevin Garnett’s podcast “KG Certified.” Pierce suggested that the team trade one of its stars, Anthony Davis, and bring back Bronny James from the G League and allow the father-son duo to take over.
“You trade AD, then you bring Bronny up for the rest of the season, and let them cook,” Pierce said on Friday. “That’s what you gotta do.”
Pierce justified his take by suggesting that the Lakers don’t stand a chance of having a deep run this season. He further said it’d be better to let LeBron James make the most of his final years in the league by playing with his son while the young guys of the team develop alongside Bron.
“Let Bron and Bronny cook, trade AD, and let Knecht and the young guys develop…We wanna see Bron throw Bronny a lob,” Pierce said.
The LA Lakers are 10th in the Western Conference with a 13-12 record. While they started the season on a good note with a 3-0 run, they won just three of their last 10 games after their 97-87 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
Veteran analyst urges LeBron James to make quick return after Lakers’ loss against Timberwolves
LeBron James has missed the LA Lakers’ previous two games due to left foot soreness, and his absence has been evident in the team’s performance. While the four-time NBA champion is listed on the injury report citing the injury, coach JJ Redick had previously revealed that James had also been excused from practice for “personal reasons.”
After the Lakers’ loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, veteran analyst Skip Bayless took to X, formerly Twitter, to issue a plea to James. Bayless called on the Lakers star to end his “personal time” and return to the court to help the team redeem itself.
“Come back soon, LeBron … from Germany or wherever you’ve gone during your “personal time” off. Lakers lose at Minnesota, need a refortified you,” Skip tweeted.
LeBron James’ return timeline remains a mystery as no such information has been provided about the “personal reasons.” Ahead of Friday’s loss, when asked if he knew about the former NBA MVP’s return to court, Redick replied with a simple “no” before moving on to the next question.
In the 23 games he’s played in the season, James is averaging 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 9.1 assists while shooting 49.5% from the field, including 35.9% from deep.
