LeBron James takes massive shot at veteran Los Angeles reporter

Speculation about LeBron James’ future with the Los Angeles Lakers surfaced in recent weeks and took a big turn during NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio. Back near his hometown once more, playing in the arena he spent two stints at, James spoke multiple times about a future which could include anyone  but the Lakers.

Between talk about his son Bronny and his love of Cleveland, another storyline emerged. Reports, which came from far and wide but LeBron James has attributed to The Athletic’s Lakers writer Bill Orum, suggested the superstar could be unhappy with general manager Rob Palinka.

James and the Lakers have each addressed the rumored tension by announcing their commitment to each other. During a press conference, LeBron James doubled down again and took a shot at Bill Orum’s alleged misinformation.

“I don’t care about picks, I only care about winning championships,” said James. “Well how is that directed at Rob and the Lakers franchise? Rob has done the same thing, he went and got (Anthony Davis). He didn’t care about picks as well, obviously. So it’s so weird that you guys would take – not you guys – ‘whoever’ started this whole thing. And Bill doesn’t like the Lakers anyway, so it’s always going to be a negative. Anytime Bill says anything about the Lakers, it’s going to be negative. So I hope no one in Lakers faithful listens to Bill Orum, I hope not.

The final sentence drew a laugh from the media room and brought a smile to James’ face as he put his hand up and looked around the room.

“He hasn’t said one great thing about the Lakers in so long,” James finished.

More on Lebron James and the Lakers

On Friday, there seemed to be a decision between James and the Lakers, with Adrian Wojnarowski reporting the four-time NBA champion is determined to stay in Los Angeles. His agent, Rich Paul, met with the front office and discussed the future and assured them James wants to build the team back up to a championship contender.

The Lakers are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, having a 4.5 game lead over the San Antonio Spurs, who are currently sitting outside of the playoffs at the moment. It’s been a struggle for Los Angeles since winning the franchise’s 17th championship back during the 2020 in the bubble.

James has played in 41 games this season, doing so without fellow star player Anthony Davis for a majority of the season He is averaging 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game thus far. Trying to improve their position in the standings will continue to be a priority for James and make a run at his fifth NBA championship.