Ever since ending his eight-year association with the Purple and Gold franchise, LeBron James has stated he wants to focus on competitive basketball. Later, the former 4x NBA champion said his next decision will be heavily influenced by his family. But a long-time critic is not buying the reasons and states how the drama could have been avoided by staying with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“This might be his last season,” veteran Rob Parker said to co-host Kelvin Washington and guest Antonio Daniels on The Odd Couple podcast. “I mean, let’s not overthink it. That sounds great. If you’re trying to figure something out, or you could have stayed with LA. You could have taken the veterans’ minimum to stay. If it’s about your family, you can’t have it both ways.

“Both ways is if you’re going to take a veteran’s minimum to go to one of these other teams, you could have taken that in LA, kept the family together, stayed at your Brentwood mansion, and your kids and your wife and everybody’s happy and played a string out. You’re not winning wherever you go, and you’re not going to win in LA. So, what’s the difference?”

For a long time, Rob Parker has been critical of LeBron James’ career. The acclaimed columnist even said a few years ago that the 22x All-Star’s legacy will always be synonymous with ‘taking the easy way out’. Even Bron’s infamous ‘The Decision’ was touted to take shortcuts to NBA championships by ‘stacking the deck’ in his favor. After last season’s Lakers’ exit to the Thunder, he even urged LeBron James to retire and not chase meaningless numbers.

“It won’t take long. Retire! I know you didn’t get the sendoff you wanted, [but] you got everything else. There is nothing left for you to continue to play, other than to stockpile numbers that are meaningless and can’t get you anywhere else.”

While Parker has been critical of every LeBron James move, the former Lakers star has been clear about his next decision. When he left the Purple and Gold franchise, reports revealed that his next move should have “meaningful, competitive basketball.”

Later, Bron also revealed that money wasn’t the motivating factor, but family’s influence was.

“The family portion is a big thing too,” James said to Rich Kleiman at the Game Plan Summit during Fanatics Fest. “You know, my daughter and my wife and things of that nature and I’m a big family guy. So there’s a lot of things that, you know, people are like, ‘Hurry up and make a goddamn decision, Bron.’ It’s like, ‘Okay, it’s not just about the team.’

“So many other factors that I’m factoring in right now on what not only best fit me as a player, what best fit me as a person, what best fit me as a what my happiness and also with my family as well. Yeah. I won’t hold you guys up too much longer, but the family portion is huge for me.”

As LeBron James explained, his next decision will be influenced by both family and the opportunity to compete for a championship. With the Lakers no longer viewed as title contenders, the 22-time All-Star reportedly believes teams such as the Heat, the Sixers, the Warriors, and the Cavaliers are better positioned to offer both.