James, who has been recognized throughout his profession to make coded remarks, raised eyebrows when he praised the Los Angeles Rams’ common supervisor, Les Snead, after the Rams gained the Tremendous Bowl, then praised the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder’s common supervisor, Sam Presti, when requested an innocuous query about certainly one of his gamers at an All-Star Weekend information convention. Some learn his remarks as veiled criticisms of the Lakers’ entrance workplace.
James then informed The Athletic that he hadn’t closed the door on returning to Cleveland, resulting in a mountain of hypothesis about whether or not the wedding between James and the Lakers was successfully over.
In hindsight, it clearly isn’t. Within the week after the All-Star Sport, James insisted an excessive amount of was being manufactured from his feedback. Vogel referred to them as “simply noise.”
James’s agent, Wealthy Paul, met with Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice chairman for basketball operations, and Jeanie Buss, the crew’s governor and chief govt, to guarantee them James was dedicated to being a Laker, in accordance with a number of folks with information of the assembly.
Because the agent for a very powerful present Laker in James and the second most essential in Anthony Davis, Paul has constructed an in depth relationship with Pelinka and Buss. Their dialog final week helped to appease potential rifts borne of the frustration that comes with such a disappointing season.
Within the week since, the Lakers and their largest star have all introduced a face of unity and concord.
What that assembly couldn’t do, although, was change what was taking place on the court docket.
Davis has been out with a foot sprain since Feb. 16. In all, he has missed 24 video games this season. James has missed 17. The final time James, Davis and Westbrook performed in the identical recreation collectively was in Brooklyn on Jan. 25.