The Los Angeles Lakers are still trying to figure out the best way to utilize LeBron James as he enters the final stretch of his career. There have been numerous reports suggesting that he has slowed down the Lakers’ offense and at times held up the team’s current style of play. However, his goal remains the same, which is competing for a championship.
““LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Rich Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”
Another question surrounding James is whether he could retire after this season, though his agent Rich Paul hopes that is not the case.
“Everyone is like ‘do the farewell tour it’s his last year’ this an that, I don’t know what it is, but I hope it’s not his last. I hope it’s not his last year. I don’t talk to him about it,” Paul said.
The Lakers are about to enter a difficult stretch of games, which led head coach JJ Redick to decide to eliminate morning shootarounds on game days. A major factor in that decision was the aging James.
“We made the decision 12-13 days ago that we weren’t gonna do shootaround in the mornings anymore. Part of that thought process was we have a 41-year old who shouldn’t be on his feet twice a day,” Redick said. “Let’s only rev his engine once. The other part of it was just reading personnel, like what are we really getting out of shootaround based on who’s on our team.”
While the move is meant to benefit the entire roster, having the oldest player in basketball carry such a heavy load clearly influenced the decision. The Lakers are currently in the top five of the Western Conference standings, making this upcoming stretch of games especially pivotal.
Even at 41 years old, James remains heavily relied upon by the team. Only time will tell whether skipping morning shootarounds will ultimately prove beneficial.