We’re already on day 6 after the free agency opened. Nevertheless, the Lakers’ roster remains the same as last season with only the additions of Bronny James and Dalton Knecht. Sure, LeBron James is set for a new deal that’ll see him returning next season, but is that enough?

LeBron saw his podcast partner, JJ Redick, get the Lakers HC job, despite no prior experience, and his son Bronny get drafted by the franchise as well. But they still look far from a team that wants to be in championship contention. They might not even make it to the play-in next season, let alone the playoffs. That’s exactly what Chris Carlin believes.

This year’s free agency had a whole host of talents to be fished in. The Lakers hoped to do exactly that, but the sides cleaned a big chunk of the market even before the Lakers could blink. By assessing the LA side’s current roster, Chris Carlin has a grim forecast in store. On ESPN’s “First Take”, the analyst said, “I think the Lakers at this point are a whole lot more likely to miss the play-in than they are to make the play-offs.”

“When I look at this group, I’m looking at a team that did not get any better than it was already this past year. I mean, Knecht might be a nice player, that’s great. We have a rookie head coach who everybody believes is in LeBron’s pocket as it is. I think that’s a little bit problematic,” Carlin further explained.

Giving examples from the last five seasons, the radio host mentioned LeBron and Anthony Davis‘ history of playing 55 and 50 games on average, respectively. That’s almost one-third of the regular season missed. Carlin also dismissed Rob Pelinka‘s authority as the GM and went on to say, “He (LeBron) is the GM of the team, or at least he pushes to be the GM of the team. So they may have a couple of draft picks to trade in. You know those big eyes emoji is coming right around trade deadline about what are we doing?”

Despite having multiple potential targets locked in, the Lakers are yet to make a move. With the franchise looking to find its feet among the heavy hitters of the Western Conference, this off-season was a chance for LeBron to move away from Los Angeles. And if he had his winning mentality locked in, he’d have done exactly that. Well, at least one former NFL star claims so.

Former NFL star questions LeBron James’ winning mentality

It’s been four years since LeBron James last won a chip. With every passing season, it weighs higher on his shoulder as his time on the court keeps shrinking rapidly. For LeBron, it’s now or never time to get that elusive 5th ring, but his actions don’t prove so, according to Emmanuel Acho.

On a recent episode of “Speak” on FS1, Acho fired shots of allegations against the 20-time All-Star. “LeBron’s primary objective is no longer winning championships. It’s not winning championships because if his primary objective was to win a championship, I don’t know that JJ Reddick would be the head coach. If his primary objective was to win a championship, I don’t know that he would be playing for the Lakers. If his primary objective was to win a championship, I don’t know that Bronnie James would be on the team. So I don’t think LeBron’s primary objective is to win a championship,” claimed the analyst.

Acho also highlighted the fact that LeBron’s deep-seated desire to play with his son clouded his decision-making in the off-season. LBJ reportedly expressed the desire to take a pay cut if the franchise pursued the star players the team needed. But as of now, there is no movement from the Lakers in the market and LeBron knows that time is running out fast.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this video