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Former Denver Broncos tight end ESPN host Shannon Sharpe.

Former NFL player turned broadcaster Shannon Sharpe had no mercy for Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka after a recent rant. A report leaked that LeBron James feels unappreciated and taken for granted by the Lakers. This season featured rumors of the Lakers already planning to ditch James in favor of building a roster completely around new superstar Luka Doncic.

Sharpe had the following rant about Pelinka and the Lakers not showing enough respect to LeBron:

“Now y’all done pissed me off. Let’s be all the way real. If Rob Pelinka was not Kobe Bryant’s agent, does he have that job? But y’all don’t want to talk about that. All you want to talk about is, well, LeBron James got his son on the team. LeBron handpicked this. Let’s have a real conversation. I got time today.

Now you want to make all these things exactly how you want them. I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen. Luka is one of my favorite players. You’re not winning with a backcourt that’s defensively challenged. Name a time you won a championship like that. Think about it. What did they say when they played Luka Doncic? We want Luka to guard.”

Sharpe had a lot to unleash after the report leaked about James not feeling completely comfortable with the current Lakers situation. The entertaining sports personality is one of James’ biggest fans and clearly has his back here.

Examining Shannon Sharpe’s Complaints About Lakers

Sharpe made a bold claim that he’ll be excited if James leaves the Lakers for another team in free agency this summer. Pelinka was called out by Sharpe for reports leaking about the franchise blaming LeBron for some of the failures after the 2020 NBA Championship.

Bad decisions like trading for Russell Westbrook or hiring Luke Walton as the head coach were referenced by Sharpe when calling out Pelinka’s worst mistakes. Sharpe also felt that it is out of line that the franchise tried to hold it over LeBron’s head that they drafted his son Bronny James.

It is clear that Sharpe feels the Lakers did James wrong by trying to push him out of the door at the end of this season until his great ending. LeBron stepping up with Luka and Austin Reaves injured reminded everyone of his importance to the team.

LeBron Might Leave Lakers Because Of Rob Pelinka

The report about James feeling disrespected by the Lakers is not a good sign to easily retain him this summer. Lakers management are dreaming of keeping LeBron on a small contract, but any lingering drama may force him out.

James will clearly want to retire in the best possible scenario and could easily find other options. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been rumored to want LeBron back to end his career with his home franchise and has a roster ready to contend.

Other options like the Golden State Warriors or New York Knicks could present tempting situations to make a bold change. Regardless, the Lakers will have to convince James to stay if the rumors are true about conflict.