Lakers Have Problems If LeBron James Is Leading Scorer: Former Suns Exec

Former Phoenix Suns executive Amin Elhassan believes the Los Angeles Lakers have a problem if LeBron James is already leading the NBA in scoring. James moved to the Lakers earlier this summer and despite a shaky start to life in Los Angeles, with the team now boasting a 9-7 record, the 33-year-old is continuing to play at an MVP level as he currently averages 28.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists after 16 games.

Most recently, he scored a season-high 51 points against the Miami Heat on Sunday in what was the 12th 50-plus point game of his career. That game saw James become the leading scorer in the NBA, though Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker would overtake him a day later.

And while the Akron, Ohio, native is also notably averaging a career-low 34.7 minutes per game, for Elhassan, that scoring feat represents a big problem with the Lakers.

“For me, if he’s leading the league in scoring, there’s something wrong with the Lakers,” Elhassan told "The Jump" on ESPN. “Even within their own level of expectation, not rising up to be a championship contender or anything. For the sake of the Lakers and what they have there, LeBron shouldn’t have to. [Kyle] Kuz[ma] got to step up, [Brandon] Ingram’s got to step up. Those guys should be carrying a bigger load of the scoring."

“I think for LeBron, if you’re trying to ration out the LeBron that I have in a season, I don’t want him leading the league in scoring because that means he’s having to put more of an effort in November. That's true [LeBron playing low minutes] but it’s high-usage minutes though.”

Elhassan does have a point. While James played all 82 regular season games for the first time in his career last season, he is turning 34 in December, and should not be carrying so much of the workload for the Lakers.

In fairness, they did have a poor start to the season, so they needed James firing on all cylinders in recent games, but ideally, they would prefer him at his peak level during the end of the season when the playoffs are approaching.

James is also leading the Lakers when it comes to rebounds, assists and steals, so the likes of Kuzma and Ingram could contribute more in the scoring department with them averaging 16.9 points and 15.2 points per game respectively.

As for his performance against the Heat, James thought it was a product of all the work he had been putting in practice, particularly with his shooting as he went six-for-eight from three-point range.

"Yeah absolutely, I put a lot of work into my craft," he said after the game. "Been shooting a lot of threes, a lot of mid-range, free throws, just trying to get my timing back so it's good to see when the work pays off."

The Lakers face the Cleveland Cavaliers next on Wednesday as James returns to play another one of his old teams.