LeBron James Backed To Shine Without Durant, Davis

LeBron James has been urged to forget about adding another star player to the Los Angeles Lakers this year and focus on taking his new team to the playoffs for the first time in five years.

The Lakers are looking to build a team around the three-time NBA champion and are certain to add a big name free agent next summer. Kevin Durant is said to be their primary target, but Anthony Davis’ name has also been mentioned on numerous occasions.

There are talks that they could move for both the players which will make them instant favorites for the title. Durant of the Golden State Warriors is the most realistic option as he will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

But Davis is contracted to the New Orleans Pelicans until the summer of 2021. There are talks about a trade, but there are other franchises that are also interested including the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers have not made the playoffs in five years and are keen to get back to challenging in the latter stages of the campaign. Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard is certain that none of those moves will come to fruition this year, but he believes James can single-handedly take the Los Angeles franchise to the post-regular season playoffs.

The 14-time All-Star has proven during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers that he can drag a team to the summit clash without too much help. James took the Cavaliers to four straight NBA Finals of which they won one in 2016 beating the Warriors 4-3 after being 3-1 down.

Broussard believes James is mentally tougher at this point in his career, which makes him an even better player. Moreover, he has a good group of young players that can help him along the way before the Lakers move to sign a “second star.”

“I hope LeBron realizes this. Don’t be so caught up in ‘I need my second star’,” Broussard said on “The Herd”, as quoted by the Express. “Now next year when you get, who knows, KD, Anthony Davis… great, get them.”

“But for this year it’s not the worst thing in the world to see LeBron James without another star. Remember what he did in Cleveland the first time around? His second guy was Mo Williams. ... They won 66 and 61 games, he was two-time MVP and he was good enough physically - not mentally - to lead that team to a championship. Now he’s got the mental strength, he’s got the experience and he’s a smarter player than he was in Cleveland,” the Fox Sports NBA analyst explained.

“I’m enjoying watching this. If LeBron embraces this and says, ‘Okay, next year we’re getting somebody, but this year I’m good enough to take us to elite status without a second star’ - that’s great.”

The Lakers made a poor start to the season, losing their first three games. But have since gained a bit of momentum and have now won seven of their last nine games to move into eighth place in the Western Conference standings. They have won one game more than last seasons West finalists the Houston Rockets, who are struggling this campaign.