Bill Simmons Smiles, Tells TMZ LeBron James Will Win 0 Championships with Lakers

Bill Simmons predicted the Los Angeles Lakers will target Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Jimmy Butler and Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard to play alongside prized free-agent signing LeBron James, but he's not sure that will be enough to bring an NBA title to L.A.

On Monday, TMZ Sports passed along comments from The Ringer founder, who smiled and made a zero with his hand after being asked how many championships James will win with the Lakers.

Simmons, a diehard Boston Celtics fan, predicted LeBron would land in L.A. back in February for both basketball and brand (Space Jam 2?) reasons.

"Believe me, I hate admitting this … but the Lakers, Yankees and Cowboys are the only three American sports teams to achieve perennial resonance," Simmons wrote. "They always matter, regardless of whether they're winning or losing. The NBA's biggest star in 20-plus years jumping to the NBA's biggest franchise … I mean, that's something."

He added: "It's one of the three greatest players of all time saying, I couldn't find the perfect basketball situation, so I picked the perfect life situation."

Being unable to bring at least one championship to the Lakers would be looked at as a failure, though. James signed a four-year, $153.3 million contract to immediately vault the storied franchise back into title conversation. Now he must deliver the goods.

The roster isn't on par with the two-time reigning champion Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets yet, though acquiring the likes of Butler or Lillard would help. But any excuse, including a lack of talent around him, won't cut it if LeBron leaves L.A. without at least one more Larry O'Brien Trophy on his resume.