John Salley says LeBron James would have won more rings if he played in a system: "Every time it's 'What you're gonna do?' you really can't get it done"

Former Detroit Pistons center John Salley was the first NBA player to win championships with three different teams. Aside from winning with the Bad Boys, Spider won championships with Michael Jordan 's Bulls and Shaq and Kobe Lakers.

Having played with MJ and Kobe, Salley acknowledges the value of playing under a system. In his case, it was Phil Jackson 's triangle offensive system, which Phil Jackson ran in Chicago and L.A.

Salley said playing under the triangle helped MJ and Kobe win multiple titles. And if LeBron James played within a similar system, he would be sitting on more than four championship rings right now,

"LeBron would have more championships if he had a system," said Salley on Gil's Arena . " I'm not saying that LeBron is better than Michael Jordan. I don't think anybody's better than Michael Jordan. But this is what I think about the system. The reason it seems like LeBron is firing people and getting out because he only wants to win and everybody else wants to be cool…If he had something he could go down to, not when it's down to five seconds and everyone stands there and 'What you gonna do?' Every time it's 'What you gonna do?', you really can't get it done."

LeBron's offense is predictable without a system

According to Salley, LeBron's offense is a bit more predictable without a system. Because James has a playmaker mentality, defenders might sag when he dribbles the ball, knowing that he'll look for a pass before thinking of scoring for himself.

However, while freestyling has generally worked for Bron because he has an incredibly high game IQ, Mike and Kobe played on teams with clear principles that allowed them to get easier buckets much more often than King James did.

"In the triangle, LeBron pass that ball and run off second guard option. Now you have to stay on LeBron. And he just keeps opening when they adjust, he scores. When they adjust that, that guy scores. And you put in those positions to do it. It's to the next man. You help the next man, the next man," said Salley.

History speaks for the triangle system

The triangle offensive system was the scheme innovated by Jackson's deputy Tex Winter and popularized by the Zen Master himself. Jackson successfully ran it in Chicago, turning Michael Jordan's Bulls into a dynasty in the 90s. When Phil moved to Los Angeles, the Lakers won a total of five titles while running the triangle.

"The triangle offense had Phil and Michael win six championships," said Salley on his podcast. "They would have won 8 championships if Michael didn't go away. Then to prove that point, they come to L.A. and he wins 5 championships with the same offense, with a great player. But it's a system, they couldn't beat the triangle system. Then this guy named Steve Kerr goes and takes a version of it and wins four championships with it."

Considering that Mike and Kobe had Phil early in their careers and LeBron will be entering Year 22 next season, it's probably safe to say that James will finish his NBA career without ever playing in a system. That will also mean that his ring count will stay at four, one less than Kobe and two fewer than Mike. But because he did it playing 'rogue' basketball, it might be more impressive.

Related: The Bulls reportedly don't want to make trades with LeBron's Lakers to protect MJ's legacy