Why did the Lakers abandon James of 24+7+8? Three points show that James peak is just an illusion

Text/Jiang Shihua

Although from various information, James will still play for the Lakers in the new season, more phenomena are enough to show that this is just his last season with the Lakers. Maybe even the last dance of his career. The Lakers' public announcement that they will not renew their contract with James next season shows that the two sides have faced irreconcilable contradictions in many concepts. So, why did the Lakers abandon James of 24+7+8? Three points show that Zhan’s current peak is just an illusion.

Judging from the performance last season alone, the 40-year-old James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.0 steals last season, and was selected for the All-Second Team and All-Star, which is still the performance of the league's super giant. But the problem is that behind this data, there are three issues that cannot be ignored:

First: This is a data presentation of a large amount of ball rights. If James's playing style could barely be accepted by the Lakers' management in the era of James's era, then after Doncic came to the Lakers, James' playing style was out of place with the Lakers' system.

Second: Imbalance between offense and defense. On the one hand, James' offensive performance is indeed amazing. But on the other hand, James' performance on the defensive end also disappointed Lakers fans. Indeed, compared with his peak period, James' performance on the defensive end is a big gap. One of the main reasons is that as he grows older, his physical fitness is no longer enough to support him in omnipotence on both offense and defense.

Third: The positive and negative data even shocked the fans' chin. Last season, the Lakers were third in the West, and James' total plus or negative value was -54. Time really doesn't wait for anyone, even a superstar of a historical level like Zhan.

The Lakers are very successful teams in the NBA. Whether in terms of record or commercial value, especially from the latter's perspective, James is indeed unable to take the Lakers to a higher level. Being abandoned in this way seems undecent, but it is reasonable. After all, the NBA is just a business league with basketball as the carrier.