The Lakers won the 2020 title in the NBA bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Disney World, 22 teams fought for a playoff spot over eight games before 16 fought it out in a traditional playoff format, where James and the Lakers emerged as champions.
The Lakers were in the bubble for three months. They were away from their families, stuck in hotel rooms with no visitors allowed.
But in a recent piece with The Athletic, Morey said the Lakers’ bubble championship deserves an asterisk for its abnormality. That incited a passionate reaction from one of James’ former teammates.
James’ former teammate with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, Kendrick Perkins, rushed to his defence. He encouraged Morey to address the issues within his own team before speaking about others.
Morey’s 76ers made headlines when their star man, Joel Embiid, criticised his organisation for their handling of his injuries. In a piece with ESPN, Embiid said he lacked trust in the team to the extent that he would leave cash around his apartment to see if anybody stole from him.
Perkins, on NBA Today, said, “Why is Daryl Morey even talking about this? We would like to hear you address what Joel Embiid talked about a few weeks ago. Talk about your organisation, there’s some cleaning up you need to be doing.
He went on to say that this has nothing to do with the bubble, and everything to do with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, James.
He continued, “Here we are five weeks removed from the bubble championship, and now we want to talk about an asterisk?
“We wouldn’t be having this conversation, it has nothing to do with the bubble or the actual championship or even the Lakers, it has everything to do with LeBron James. It was one of the greatest championships in my opinion, and hardest championships.
On NBA Today, NBA reporter Tim Bontemps revealed his NBA power rankings, and had the Lakers 10th below the likes of the Orlando Magic, LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers, who have an in-shape Luka Doncic and appear to have prevented James from leaving LA, are widely considered to be one of the leading contenders for the NBA title. But not according to Bontemps.
Perkins was not happy with the list, saying, “This list is horrible, because you have the Lakers at number 10. That is beyond disrespectful. The Lakers are the best team in California right now.
The Clippers are old, that’s a nursing home. They have too many concerns, especially when it comes down to the health of Kawhi Leonard who is their best player.
“The Orlando Magic, are we serious right now? Are they better than the Lakers? Absolutely not. And then we get to the Warriors. We just did a whole segment about how the Warriors did absolutely nothing.”
The Warriors are the only team in the NBA not to make a signing or re-signing so far this summer, as their Jonathan Kuminga saga drags on. Meanwhile, the Lakers signed DeAndre Ayton and Marcus Smart and have one of the league’s best duos in James and Doncic.
Perkins is tired of the Lakers disrespect, and is fighting their corner all summer long.
