LeBron James’ weekend back in Northeast Ohio exposed all kinds of truths, with the realization of just how much trouble the Lakers are in near the top of that list.

James, an expert at using both subtle and obvious ways of putting pressure on his teams to make changes, seemed to poke at the Lakers throughout his All-Star experience. His comments about Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti had to be viewed against current Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka’s inability to find a move at the trade deadline.

And James’ admission to the Athletic’s Jason Lloyd that he hadn’t closed the door on a return to Cleveland and that he’d be spending the end of his career playing alongside his son, Bronny, were the kinds of comments the Lakers need to take seriously.

Under contract with the team for just one more season, James has sent a strong message — let’s get better and let’s do it quickly.

The trouble, of course, is that James played a large role in putting together this flawed roster. And secondarily, the pathways for the Lakers to do things differently in the upcoming offseason are still fairly limited.

Pelinka, sitting courtside Sunday during the All-Star game, couldn’t have missed what was transpiring in front of him. While the ability of the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry to dominate a game has mostly been unchanged over the last decade, a new crop of All-Stars are making the NBA even younger, more athletic and more dangerous.