LEBRON James anticipates changes this summer after the Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs for the seventh time in the past nine seasons.
James said Monday (Tuesday in Manila) it’s natural to begin the offseason thinking about what adjustments might be necessary to get the Lakers back to the NBA finals.
He said he’s mulling any “roster that can bring more wins” in 2022-23.
James said he respects head coach Frank Vogel, who was fired not long after James met the media.
“I respect Frank as a coach and as a man. He’s a man who gives everything to the game,” James said. “At the end of the day I don’t know what’s going to happen with Frank and him being here, but I have nothing but respect for him.”
James averaged 30.3 points per game this season, becoming the first player to improve his career scoring average from the previous year in his 19th season. And he scored 30-plus points 34 times, easily setting another NBA record for a player in his 19th season.
He’s eligible for a contract extension with the Lakers this summer but said he hasn’t had a conversation with the team about that deal.
The Lakers won the 2020 NBA title in the “bubble” in Florida. All-Star teammate Anthony Davis said he believes the duo can remain the center of a championship team, but admitted there is a need to understand what has changed for the team since the title. James concurred, pointing to health and the inability to keep the team’s stars on the court as the reason for the 2021-22 disappointments.
Davis played 40 games after just 36 games played in 2020-21 and a veteran roster assembled around the star nucleus was unable to pick up the slack. — Field Level Media
