A former rival of both LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers believes both sides would be better off going their separate ways.

Despite securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference behind a 50-32 record, the Los Angeles Lakers got handily demolished by the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Tim

One voice calling for the Lakers to take the decision out of James' hands is Paul Pierce, formerly of the Boston Celtics who was a longtime rival of James when the two were battling for Eastern Conference supremacy back in the late 2000s and early 2010s.