Lakers No Longer Prioritizing LeBron? Stephen A. Reacts to Exit Rumors

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🔥 On First Take, Stephen A. Smith reacts to reports that LeBron James is no longer the top priority for the Los Angeles Lakers, and that he may be ready to leave L.A. in response.

Stephen A. dives deep into what’s going on behind the scenes in the Lakers front office — especially after the signing of Deandre Ayton and potential future moves centered around Luka Dončić. Is the franchise shifting focus to a younger core and subtly phasing LeBron out?

This segment explores how LeBron is reacting to the Lakers’ evolving strategy, what his exit would mean for the league, and which teams might be watching this situation closely.

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#FirstTake #StephenASmith #LeBronJames #Lakers #NBA2025 #NBARumors #LakersNews #LeBronTrade #DeandreAyton #LukaDoncic

Keyword Tags:
LeBron wants out of Lakers, Lakers no longer prioritize LeBron, Stephen A First Take reaction, LeBron Lakers exit rumors, LeBron James trade talk, Lakers shift focus, Ayton signing Lakers impact, Luka Doncic Lakers, LeBron ESPN reaction, NBA offseason 2025, Lakers future without LeBron

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00:00...out of DeAndre Ayton, like your theory of how he takes marginal players and makes them better.

00:05How? He's already been told this ain't your team anymore.

00:08This is the Luka's team, right? He's been told that. That's pretty clear.

00:11That's why they put out that statement, because they know what the Lakers have told them.

00:15We're really building now with Luka Doncic as the primary piece going forward.

00:20Where has LeBron James ever been the secondary piece?

00:22Never.

00:23Never.

00:23So you're going to have him on a team, and now he's going to,

00:25well, let me get the most out of DeAndre Ayton for all these. Come on.

00:29Like, that's why what you were talking about, David, like how the floor is so much lower,

00:35because there is a potential chaos in there that could happen and a frustration that could build up.

00:39But when it comes to LeBron's future in L.A., I think the writing's on the wall.

00:43Like, it's clear that they put out that statement for a reason,

00:47and it wasn't just leverage to push the Lakers to build for winning right now.

00:51They were letting the world know, listen, what we're trying to do is have a realistic chance to win it all.

00:59That's what LeBron James wants in what could be a farewell tour.

01:02We know it's not with the Lakers, because the Lakers even know this coming year,

01:06probably not going to be a realistic chance.

01:08We know it's not with the Lakers.

01:09Unless they move to the East.

01:10Well, are you reporting that?

01:12We know it's not a championship year with the Lakers now, but in the future?

01:17Like, are you saying he'll play this year and then move on?

01:20That's all he's got.

01:20He's got one year.

01:21He picked up one year.

01:21Well, but there are options.

01:22There was no negotiation for an extension, right?

01:24There was nothing like that.

01:25There was no talk about an extension of multiple years.

01:27No, he picked up his option, and that's it.

01:30There's a finalization right now to his future in L.A.,

01:33whether it's this offseason or next offseason.

01:37But it's coming.

01:38But, Alan, we learned, and David, I want you to chime in on this.

01:40We learned a lot this week with the Dame Lillard situation.

01:42There are ways of removing players from teams that we did not think of previously.

01:46There's a trade.

01:48There's a buyout.

01:48There's wave and stretch.

01:49I'm not suggesting any of those slides, too.

01:52Wave and stretch LeBron James.

01:52I'm not.

01:53Tim is rolling his eyes.

01:54I'm not saying that is happening.

01:56I'm saying we've learned a lot this week that we did not expect to happen.

02:00David, you've got a lot of nerve here.

02:01I don't need – somebody owes me $10.

02:03As soon as Wendy yesterday said, I'm going to leave that door unlocked,

02:06I knew Evan was going to play that clip today to bolster his little argument

02:10that there is a possibility for a trade that's happening with LeBron James.

02:12It ain't happening.

02:13Alan just backed it up, too.

02:14It ain't happening.

02:14It's not happening.

02:15I said it yesterday.

02:15I said it the last two days.

02:16It's not happening.

02:17And you're using that little clip, little 10-second clip,

02:20to make yourself feel like this thing is possible.

02:21It's not happening.

02:22Tim is totally right.

02:23If LeBron wanted to move, he would have done – he would have not,

02:26you know, taken this contract.

02:27He would have moved on, right?

02:28That would have been – that would have happened.

02:29My question here is why are we even talking about LeBron James right now?

02:33I know it's not – it's blasphemy to say that.

02:34Well, it's LeBron James.

02:35It's LeBron James.

02:36But this – we're concerned about LeBron.

02:38LeBron is concerned about LeBron.

02:39Rich Paul is concerned about LeBron.

02:41The Lakers are not concerned about LeBron.

02:42The Lakers are concerned about Luka Doncic.

02:44This is all about Luka and what's right for him.

02:47They do not seem to – I mean, of course,

02:49LeBron is the secondary piece to that organization.

02:52They want him there and all that stuff.

02:53But this is all about making moves for Luka Doncic.

02:56If Luka Doncic walks down there, walks in the front office and says,

02:59stretch LeBron, buy him out, do all that stuff,

03:02Lakers are going to do that.

03:02He's not going to say that.

03:04LeBron is going to say – every move that the Lakers are making right now

03:07is about Luka Doncic and Luka Doncic in that future.

03:10And LeBron James, for him, this is foreign territory.

03:13He's never been as disposable or expendable as he is right now

03:18at this Lakers organization.

03:19Expendable.

03:19Can I remind you, he was second team all NBA.

03:22That means he's one of the top ten players in the league,

03:24despite the fact that he's 40 and he'll be 41 in December.

03:28All that – all that people are talking about with age, I understand it.

03:31But we're in a different world with athletes now,

03:33where 40 is not exactly over the hill anymore.

03:36We're seeing some players, especially the high-end ones,

03:38can play at a high level and continue to do that.

03:41He's got one year.

03:42When have we ever seen him just kind of fade away?

03:44This is not going to be a quiet goodbye.

03:47This guy wants his career to end on a high note clearly,

03:52and they're going to try to figure out a way to get him there

03:54come hell or high water.

03:55There's no way I see them just saying,

03:57stay in L.A. and just kind of play the good soldier

04:00and I'll just support everyone.

04:01That's not his way.

04:03His way is the narrative.

04:04Well, his way is out the window because he has no choice right now.

04:06He has no choice.

04:07He is locked into that contract.

04:08There is nothing he can do about it.

04:10He can't get – there's no trade that works.

04:13They're not going to buy this dude out.

04:14He is a Laker this year, no matter what.

04:17And this team, signing into that Lakers means that he is signing in

04:21to be a second fiddle to Luka Dodgers,

04:23and Luka Dodgers being the number one guy who drives the boat for that team.

04:26And that's why we're talking about him,

04:28because what Alan said in reaction to your point,

04:30we've never said that about LeBron.

04:31Never, never.

04:3220 years.

04:33All right, let's switch coasts now.

04:34Now, the New York Knicks are expected to hire two-time NBA Coach of the Year

04:38award winner Mike Brown as the franchise's next head coach.

04:42Brown's last stop was with the Kings,

04:44where he was fired in December after a 13-18 start to this season,

04:47despite having led the franchise to its first playoff berth in 16 seasons back in 2023.

04:53Tony Kornheiser on PTI had some strong words for folks

04:57who may be criticizing the Knicks on this hire.

05:00Mike Brown's record in regular season games in the NBA is 454-304.

05:07He wins at a percentage of 59.9%.

05:09His record in the playoffs is 50-40.

05:12You know, he wins more than he loses.

05:14He took LeBron James to the finals in Cleveland,

05:18and he took Sacramento to the playoffs when they hadn't been there in 17 years.

05:23He's a professional coach, and he's being hired, if it happens, by a management that is amateurish.

05:32Every single thing the Knicks have done, including firing Tom Thibodeau,

05:36has made them look worse, day by day worse.

05:40So he is, Mike, and I'll get out of here on this,

05:43Mike Brown is on some level better than the Knicks deserve right now.

05:48Alan Hahn, you're around this Knicks team as an analyst for MSG.

05:53Do you agree with Tony that Mike Brown is better right now than the Knicks deserve?

05:57Well, I mean, all respect to Tony,

06:01the Knicks front office has been a huge part of rebuilding this franchise

06:05from what it was when Phil Jackson was running things, okay?

06:09So you've got to give Leon Rose a little more credit than to say that they don't deserve this.

06:13They have built themselves out of what was nothing into a team that really,

06:18now you consider them a championship contender,

06:20which is something we haven't been able to say about this franchise in a quarter century.

06:24So let's give a little more credit to Leon Rose, William Wesley, and company and what they've done.

06:28Am I surprised by the Thibodeau hire?

06:30Yes.

06:30Do I agree with it?

06:32No, I do not.

06:33But do I agree that Mike Brown is the right hire for right now?

06:36Absolutely.

06:37The resume, the experience,

06:38everything that you need to walk into a place like New York with the expectation of not just winning,

06:45not just matching last year.

06:46No, the expectation now here in New York is to get to the NBA Finals,

06:50especially with the new landscape of the East.

06:53Yeah.

06:53Let's go back in time 30 years ago to 1995 when the Yankees lost in the first round of the playoffs

06:59to the Seattle Mariners.

07:01Buck Showalter gets let go and the Yankees go out and hire Joe Torre.

07:04Now, at the time, Joe Torre never won a playoff game.

07:06It was called Clueless Joe, the back page, I believe, at the Daily News at the time.

07:10It was a widely panned hire.

07:12People didn't think it was going to work.

07:13He was a guy who coached three teams in his past, like Mike Brown has.

07:17He was 55 years old, like Mike Brown is.

07:20And he was a guy that was not seen as somebody who was going to get the Yankees anywhere

07:23with an imperious owner in George Steinbrenner, just like James Dolan now, right?

07:26What happened?

07:27They went to the playoffs the next 12 years in a row.

07:29They won four World Series, totally transformed the franchise,

07:31totally transformed the sport of baseball.

07:33I'm not saying the Knicks are going to go on a dynastic streak here.

07:37However, if you are a Knicks fan, that's the kind of thing you are hoping for.

07:41And look, to Allen's point, and frankly, to Tony's point,

07:44I think he nailed it in a lot of ways.

07:45Mike Brown was clearly the best option for this team.

07:48He has coached in Los Angeles.

07:50He has coached Kobe Bryant.

07:52He has coached Michael Jordan.

07:53He's coached LeBron James.

07:55He's been around the Spurs.

07:56He's been around the dynastic Warriors team.

07:58He is going to understand the pressure that comes with being in New York

08:01and the pressure that comes with being in this job,

08:03where there is nothing short of a finals that's going to be acceptable.

08:06To Allen's point, the Knicks just made the conference finals

08:09for the first time in 25 years and fired their coach.

08:11If you do that, you're not going to be able to say,

08:14oh, well, we got to the second round, first year, growing pains.

08:17You know, we can get better next year.

08:18No, the only way this is going to work for the Knicks, for their fans,

08:21for the expectations they have,

08:23is for the Knicks to be in the NBA finals next year.

08:26If they win it at that point, we'll see.

08:27But that's what people are expecting, and that's what Mike Brown has to deliver.

08:32And this is a guy who's experienced.

08:33He's won big in the playoffs.

08:34He's made the finals before.

08:35And there wasn't a better option available

08:37after they struck out on all these coaches who were employed by other teams.

08:40Yeah, this is the best of a bad situation right now, I think, with Mike Brown.

08:43I think, you know, it felt like it was going to be impossible

08:45to win the press conference and win the announcement

08:47once you get rid of somebody like Tibbs.

08:49But the X's and O's are there.

08:51The guy has coached tremendous offenses with the Sacramento Kings.

08:54He can come up with some inventive ways

08:56to even expand that offense even more.

08:58He was an architect behind a lot of that Warriors defense

09:00and his teams that he's coached have improved defensively,

09:02which we all know that the Knicks need.

09:05But really what's most important is the high-pressure stuff.

09:07We talked about the fact that whoever comes in here,

09:10it's championships, finals or bust at the very least,

09:13and there's an expectation that there's got to be a championship here.

09:15Mike Brown has been in all of these high-intensity situations.

09:18He coached LeBron James when it was LeBron James as carrying this team,

09:21and you've got to get to the finals and win the championships.

09:23He was there with the Lakers when it was Kobe, Nash, and Howard,

09:26and he had to do that.

09:27Of course, it was like he lasted a week and a half when all that happened,

09:29but that was just a mess there.

09:32He also, let's not forget the fact that when Kerr went out,

09:35when it was that first KD year,

09:36he was coaching that Warriors team in the playoffs,

09:38and they were 12-0 under him as a coach.

09:40That is a high-pressure situation.

09:42He is used to this.

09:43Now, there probably is no higher pressure than Madison Square Garden.

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