The Los Angeles Lakers' first chance to build a semblance of chemistry with their newest roster additions is scheduled for Friday, when the Lakers take on the Phoenix Suns in a preseason matchup.
While this would have presented an opportunity for Los Angeles' 21-time All-Star LeBron James to create some on-court connections with his teammates, the storied franchise's head coach JJ Redick recently revealed that the legendary forward would be held out of the contest to recover from an injury, along with several of his teammates.
"JJ Redick says the team is still evaluating its lineups for the first preseason games this weekend but it’s already been determined that LeBron James (glute), Marcus Smart (Achilles tendinopathy), Maxi Kleber (quad) and Adou Thiero (knee) are out Friday against PHX," ESPN's Dave McMenamin shared via Twitter/X on Thursday afternoon.
Heading into his 23rd NBA campaign, James surely would have liked to share the court with some the newest Lakers such as Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, but James and the latter of the recently-acquired pair will be relegated to the bench.
Along with both James and Smart, Los Angeles' No. 36 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft Adou Thiero will also miss out on his first chance to step foot on the court alongside James and the franchise's 26-year-old phenom Luka Dončić.
Though this appears to be an extremely slight bump in the Lakers' hopeful road to a deep postseason run, James' noted absence could eventually lead to a lack of connectivity between others on the roster as the opening night of the regular season quickly approaches.
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