NBA scout's harsh opinion of LeBron this season: 'I think he's bored'

LeBron James took a little while to get into gear this season after missing the Los Angeles Lakers' first 14 games with sciatica. But in his last nine games, he has averaged 24.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists a game while shooting 54% from the field and 34.8% from 3-point range.

He definitely seems to be picking his spots, as he's in his record 23rd NBA season and turned 41 years of age on Tuesday. But he largely seems to still be the same player he has been for the last few years.

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However, one anonymous NBA scout seems to feel that James is merely going through the motions, according to the responses he gave RG.com when he was asked to assess the superstar's play so far this season.

He said that he feels James is "bored" and not making a positive impact on the Lakers.

“He looks bored, to be honest,” the scout said when asked his impressions of James' play. “I think he’s bored with the process. I think it’s hard for him to muster up and summon what he’s used to doing. If he’s interested, he can still get 25 [points] and do his thing. But I wouldn’t say he’s impacting winning.”

Overall, the Lakers are 20-11, but they're just 9-6 in games James has played in this season. When asked what has impressed him about James' play this season, the scout said that the future Hall of Famer has clearly declined and isn't able to elevate his team like he used to.

“Nothing. I think he’s bored. He can muster up a drive here or there. He can go for a steal and get a breakaway dunk. But he can’t finish in the lane like he used to anymore. He doesn’t finish as well against contact. He wants to shoot more 3s. If he has enough energy, he’ll sometimes have a chasedown block. But those are just highlights. He's not really impacting winning. He mustered up a good performance against Philly [29 points, seven rebounds, six assists]. But when they play good teams, he looks less than human.”

When James has been on the court this season, the Lakers have a -5.6 net rating and a 119.8 defensive rating. When he hasn't been on the court this season, their net rating has been 1.5 and their defensive rating has improved to 115.5.

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The anonymous scout was asked how James is clearly not the same player he was in his prime, and he attacked the five-time MVP's lack of defense — a common and fair criticism these days.

“Watch any of his defensive clips. You’ll see what it requires to play defense in the NBA and be good at it. Most teams aren’t. Most people don’t play good defense or even team defense. The Lakers certainly don’t fit in that category. But LeBron’s rarely in a stance. If he can go for a steal, he’ll do it. But he never gets back in the play. His weakside defense is atrocious. He just point switches. He doesn’t want to move. If the ball comes right to him off a rebound, he’ll get it. To him, that’s a defensive success.”

It is anyone's guess how this season will turn out for James and the Lakers, let alone what the rest of his career will look like. Of course, he could decide to retire after the conclusion of this campaign, but that scout doesn't think that will happen.

“I don’t know what his future holds for the Lakers. But I still don’t think he’ll retire after this season. You’d wonder if he does what Tim Duncan does and just walk away right when it ends. But that doesn’t seem like him. I don’t think it’s going to be his last year. I think he wants to announce the whole run and wants the farewell tour. But I also don’t think he’ll change teams. No one obviously knows, for sure. But I don’t know why he still does it. He doesn’t seem super engaged and seems more into golf right now than basketball. But it would surprise me if he stepped away after this season. I could be wrong, but I don’t think he goes to another team. Which team would want that, knowing there’s a lot that comes with him?”

James is in the final year of a contract that will pay him a total of $52.6 million this season.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: NBA scout's harsh opinion of LeBron this season: 'I think he's bored'