"I would send Alex Len to Cabo" - LeBron James' friend campaigns for Lakers to resign 2020 Bubble championship X-factor

Cuffs The Legend made a bold statement about the Lakers, Monday, on X. The sports media personality gave his two cents regarding LA's current big man rotation. He suggested that they need to make a move if they were serious about winning a championship this season.

Cuffs, a personal friend of Lakers forward LeBron James, is a multimedia content producer, host of the "Some Dude Show," and self-proclaimed "ghostwriter for your favorite sports networks."

Early on Monday afternoon, the internet personality posted on X that if he was in charge, he would move off of the Lakers' newest signing, Ukrainian center Alex Len.

"I would send Alex Len to Cabo," said Cuffs The Legend.

Cuffs' advice comes with the subtle hint that he doesn't believe the 17-time NBA champions are current contenders as is.

He added, "That’s if you really wanna win the chip this year."

Len was traded from the Sacramento Kings following the Lakers' surprise acquisition of Luka Doncic, which left them without Anthony Davis and the foundation of their front line. Len, who has only played in three games for the Lakers so far, has struggled to make an impact on the defensive end.

LA has lost two of those three games and in their one win, a 123-100 beating over the Denver Nuggets, Len only played three minutes. Cuffs also recommended that the Purple and Gold should sign Dwight Howard instead, based on his rebounding and defensive prowess.

Howard, who had three separate one-year stints in LA, won a championship with the organization in 2020 during the bubble playoffs. Despite a career that will undoubtedly land him in the Hall of Fame, Howard hasn't played NBA basketball since 2022.

He also hasn't played in any professional league since his All-Star season in Taiwan's now defunct T1 League in 2023.

Cuffs also mentioned LA's center Trey Jemison III, who's on a two-way contract with the G League. Jemison went undrafted in 2023 but has had short stints with the Wizards, Grizzlies and Pelicans. The media personality doesn't think he's up for the challenge and suggests that the Lakers feel the same way.

Lakers dominate Nuggets in impressive road win

No one has had the LA Lakers' number over the past few years quite like the Denver Nuggets. After defeating the Nuggets in the 2020 Western Conference finals, en route to a championship, the two teams met up again in 2023 for a conference finals rematch.

Humorously referred to as "the most competitive sweep in NBA history," the Nuggets thrashed the Lakers in four tight games. The following season, in 2024, LA met Denver in the playoffs again, this time in the first round.

Despite clawing a game back from them, and the series being even closer than the previous, the Nuggets still steamrolled their way to a five-game series win.

LA hoped to get the proverbial monkey off their shoulders in their first matchup against the Nuggets early this season. However, they faltered in a 25-point loss at home.

Now, well into the second half of the season, the new-look Lakers are still trying to sort everything out and had very little hope going into Denver for Saturday's game.

Despite that, LA came out strong and beat the Nuggets 123-100 in a game they confidently led for the majority of the night. Fans finally got to see the real Luka Doncic, who had his first double-double in Purple and Gold, putting up 32 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. LeBron James and Austin Reaves flanked Doncic with 25 and 23 points, respectively.

After the game, coach JJ Redick attributed the win to meticulous game planning in the days leading up to the matchup.

"I pretty much haven't slept since we walked off the court in Portland," said Redick. "I envision our guys playing hard, they played harder than I could've envisioned."

Redick credits his players for their unrelenting effort and attention to detail that led to their win over the Nuggets. The result required incessant defensive attention towards Nikola Jokic, in the form of double and triple teams, sometimes even fully loading up one side of the court.

This heavy denial of the ball left Jokic unable to impact the game and put the onus on lesser players to make decisions.

The technique proved fruitful as Jokic was held to just 12 points on only 2-7 shooting. The reigning MVP still tallied 10 assists, however, the Lakers' gamble to dare other players to make plays and hit shots paid off.

While the Lakers are far from having "cracked" the code to beating the Denver Nuggets, the win could inspire other teams to take a similar approach.