EL SEGUNDO — For a man who recently signed a contract extension that will pay him more than $97 million, LeBron James seemed relatively soft-spoken when asked about his payday.
The 37-year-old forward – who can remain a Laker until he’s 40 – was asked what moved him to sign on for more years with the franchise that won the 2020 championship with him at the helm but has struggled since.
“I came here because I believed in the franchise and I’m still here,” he said. “It’s literally that simple.”
For the Lakers, however, it seems to take on a little more heft.
General Manager Rob Pelinka spelled out in no uncertain terms that the Lakers – though they are being “thoughtful” before rushing into any potential deals – will use any chip at their disposal to field a competitive roster with James at the center. James is under contract through 2025 with a player option for his final season.
“We will do everything we can, (draft) picks included, to make deals to give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end,” Pelinka said. “He committed to our organization. That’s gotta be a bilateral commitment, and it’s there.”
Pelinka added that the Lakers are willing to deal their assets, including their prized 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks, but are being patient for the right deal: “You only get one shot to do it.”
While Pelinka and Darvin Ham both expressed confidence in their roster, it is widely acknowledged to have significant holes on paper. The Lakers are noticeably thin at the wing and power forward spots, with limited depth behind James and Anthony Davis (who have both struggled with injury in recent seasons). Wenyen Gabriel, Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson and Austin Reaves (who also might play guard) fill out the spots at forward.
The team also lacks obvious shooters: Among expected rotation contributors, only James and Brown finished last season shooting above 35% from 3-point range. Ham said he expected some of the players to improve on their percentages last season.
“We’ve gotta get enough reps day in and day out from the 3-point line, once we come out and develop and establish our spacing and our running habits,” he said. “Those things are gonna open up. And we have very confident players from that range that are gonna be able to get stuff from the perimeter.”
James is also looking to improve: After missing 53 possible games the last two seasons combined, he said his focus is being more available and avoiding injury.
If he’s able to dodge the injury bug, James is on track to break one of the NBA’s most hallowed records this season: Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s 38,387 regular-season points mark. James is 1,325 points behind the Laker great, a mark he can reach in 49 games if he hews to his 27.2 ppg career scoring average.
“I’ve never played my career saying, ‘If I do this, then this will happen,’” he said. “It’s just making sure that I’m in the best shape possible going into a season and being available. But to sit here and to know that I’m on the verge of breaking probably the most sought-after record in the NBA, something that people said would probably never be done, it’s just super humbling for myself. I think it’s super cool.”
INJURY/AVAILABILITY UPDATES
The Lakers cleared one major hurdle this offseason: Kendrick Nunn, who missed all of last season with a bone bruise, has been cleared for contact work. It’s a big milestone for the 27-year-old who came to the organization last summer with high expectations. In his last healthy season with Miami, Nunn averaged 14.6 points while shooting 38.1% from 3-point range.
In his media day presser, Nunn acknowledged the gradual recovery was mentally taxing.
“It was an overuse injury, so you have to be mindful of just the workload you put in daily, so it kind of tested my patience there,” he said. “The process has limited my work starting off, then picking it back up as needed. And I feel healthy now, I feel full go. I would say I’m ready: I feel as good as I felt last year around this time.”
Still, the Lakers are not at full strength: Pelinka said Dennis Schröder, who was signed earlier this month, is still working out his visa from Germany. The team is hopeful he arrives within a week. Troy Brown Jr. has a back strain which will keep him out of contact work initially; Lonnie Walker IV has a minor ankle injury that may limit him at the start of training camp, but he said Monday that he’s already running, jumping and cutting on it and should be healed soon.
"We will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals that gives us the chance to help LeBron get to the end. He committed to our organization" – Rob Pelinka on trade speculations.#LakersMediaDay#LakersMediaDay pic.twitter.com/QS2Gl0vu3h
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) September 26, 2022
