Regardless of the sport, franchise players tend to get a bad rep about their influence in the locker room, and sometimes, even in the head office. Michael Jordan had it. Remember how opposed Scottie Pippen’s trade in 1996? “He’s not going nowhere,” MJ said, “He’s one of the reasons I came back. If he leaves, I’m leaving again.” LeBron James has a similar reputation. But does the Akron Hammer play a significant role in sending his teammates away?

His longstanding agent, Rich Paul, cleared the air on the Game Over podcast. “Look, I’ve been a part of situations where no matter what happens, someone would say, ‘Oh, LeBron had to want him traded.’ No, not really,” Paul said. “I’ve been in situations where he didn’t. And I know for a fact, he’s like, ‘No, please don’t do that.’ But things happen.”

He added, “So that’s a big thing. The star player sometimes gets blamed, and he may not even agree with it. But he doesn’t really have the say. So, you can fight, but sometimes the team says, ‘You know what, it’s better that we do this.’ I want to tell you where I am.”

Meanwhile, the roster moves surrounding LeBron James and Michael Jordan tell two very different stories. Teams led by LeBron have reportedly moved more than 118 players and first-round picks over the years. On the other hand, Jordan’s teams made only 35 such moves. The gap stands at approximately 83, thus pointing out the grim conversation about star influence on the front office.

Back in 2023, Utah Jazz legend John Stockton publicly claimed that he isn’t fond of James’ say on team decisions. “I don’t know what it’s like to sit in that front office and have things (dictated) to you like a plan, and it appears that LeBron is,” he said. According to him, the 41-year-old’s opinion on roster decisions creates uncertainty inside a team.

Teammates could feel a sense of insecurity if they thought they might be moved to bring in players LeBron preferred. In Stockton’s view, that uncertainty could affect locker room trust and even create tension within the front office. Stockton made it clear, “The iffiness it causes with the team, the iffiness that it causes upstairs. I don’t like it… I’m not a fan of it.”

Meanwhile, LeBron’s former teammate, Kyrie Irving, went a step ahead and jokingly called him ‘LeGM.’ Kyrie said, “He put the squad together! I wasn’t mad at him… I was like, ‘Alright, bet. This is how it goes.'” This is true and relevant in terms of the 2016 NBA championship-winning run for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Once James returned home in 2014, he made sure the front office made strategic moves.

It started with trading for Kevin Love in 2014. Followed by bringing in seasoned veterans like J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in January 2015. Channing Frye arrived at the 2016 February trade deadline. And then the Cavs added Richard Jefferson and James Jones for locker-room leadership. These trades ultimately resulted in the historic NBA Finals comeback against the Golden State Warriors and the long-overdue title.

Yet when you look back at certain decisions that teams, precisely the Los Angeles Lakers, made in recent years, all eyes turn towards LeBron James.

Trades that made everyone point their fingers at LeBron James

The first one is, of course, the diabolical Russell Westbrook trade that the Lakers fell for ahead of the 2021-22 season. Now, that might sound too harsh, yet reality perfectly aligns. To acquire Westbrook from the Washington Wizards, LA dismantled its title-winning core. They traded Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell. Meanwhile, LeBron James and Anthony Davis sat down for a high-profile meeting with prospective targets and finally locked in on Russell.

But Westbrook’s playstyle never fit the Lakers’ picture. His need to control the ball clashed with James’ primary role. Russell was inconsistent beyond the three-point arc and impacted floor spacing. This limited LeBron’s effectiveness, leading to a disastrous experiment. Finally, after an entire season of friction, the Lakers sent Westbrook to the Utah Jazz for De’Angelo Russell and others.

When the Lakers traded D’Lo to Brooklyn in 2024, blame fell on LeBron James. He was blamed again when the team decided to send Gabe Vincent to the Atlanta Hawks by the February 2026 deadline.

Well, it’s difficult to say whether LeBron truly holds power in the front office or not. Because at the end of the day, it is the General Manager and the owner who give their nods to a trade decision. But as you know, the rumor mills run overtime, and blame doesn’t stop.