LeBron James promises 'championship mindset' for recruiting free agents this summer
The inaugural season of LeBron James’ career with the Los Angeles Lakers is almost over and it has been a disaster for just about everyone involved.
James had his NBA Finals streak snapped. Luke Walton’s job is in major jeopardy. Magic Johnson whiffed on the Anthony Davis trade. Nearly every young player got hurt or failed to develop. Snoop Dogg had to sell his box seats.
The light at the end of the tunnel for James and the Lakers will almost certainly take the form of bringing in star free agents. While some might figure the prospect of playing with James in Los Angeles would be attractive, there has been some speculation that it might not be so easy for the Lakers. James has reportedly struggled to bring in players to even play on a fictional team for him.
LeBron James prepares for his ‘critical summer’
So what is James looking for this offseason? He’s hoping for players to join the Lakers who want “to take this ride to the top,” per an interview with Spectrum SportsNet:
.@KingJames talks with @RealAClifton about his championship mindset attracting players with similar aspirations.
Don’t miss the full interview tonight at 6:30 PM on Spectrum SportsNet. pic.twitter.com/6ISNxOYbGv— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 5, 2019
A transcript:
“I’m looking forward to seeing who jumps in the car with me and wants to take this ride to the top. I know what I bring to the game. I know my commitment to the game. I’ve never cheated the game throughout my career. It’s always given back to me. I’m not saying I’m guaranteeing a championship, but I am guaranteeing my body, I’m guaranteeing my mind will be and will always be in championship mindset until I’m done.”
James has already ratcheted up the pressure on himself and the Lakers front office to bring in the talent needed to win a championship, calling it a “critical summer.
Fortunately, the Lakers will hit that inflection point during an offseason rich in star free agents. If every player stays healthy and develops like the Lakers hope, they may only need one more star to contend. Leonard, Durant, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker are among the names headlining the class and landing any one of them would be a massive win for the team. Davis also still looms as a trade target. We’ll see if any of them buy into James’ pitch.
Looking back on LeBron James’ disappointing season
In his full interview with Spectrum SportsNet, James chalked up the Lakers’ struggles to injuries and inability to jell because of those injuries. He also called Rajon Rondo one of the team’s two “masterminds.”
“I don’t think our team would ever be comfortable with me being out five and a half weeks, to add on Rajon getting hurt the same game and being out five and a half weeks. So now you’re taking out the two masterminds that we brought here to help lead these young guys off the floor for 11 weeks collectively. That’s disappointing for me, because I knew exactly where we were at that point and we’ve just never been able to get if back after that.”
When asked how he’d evaluate this year’s team, James indicated that he believed the team was headed on the right track until his groin tear on Christmas:
“For me personally, it’s a disappointment. For myself, because I hold myself to such a high standard. Disappointed in my body and the way it reacted on Dec. 25. I just know that I know what I came here to do, and that’s to put this franchise in position to play meaningful basketball games in April, going into May. At that point on Dec. 25, the way I lead and the way I preach, it was right on target. It was right where I was thinking we should be at that very moment.”
James may have a point there. Up to that day, the Lakers were 20-14 and had the fourth-best record in the Western Conference. Not the best record, but definitely something to build on for a young team that had recently changed its entire makeup on both sides of the ball.
Then the injuries to James, Rondo, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball happened and the only players to finish the season with at least 70 games played for the Lakers were Kyle Kuzma, JaVale McGee and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
That might have been why James backed up Walton.
LeBron James on Luke Walton: ‘He played the hand as good as he could’
When asked how he felt Walton handled this rocky season, James didn’t put much of the blame on the coach. He also had some stats for how good the Lakers were at 100 percent:
“As good as you could, as good as you can. No one expects for a suspension to happen on opening night. No one expects for injuries to happen the way they did with our franchise this year, where your starting point guard is out for numerous games. Your starting small forward is out. You starting two-guard, BI, is out. Josh [Hart] is hurt. Rondo is hurt. I’m not talking like two or three games here where everyone is back in the lineup. We’re talking like 15, 20, 25 games.
“I’ve seen something the other day where myself, BI, Zo and Kuz only played 23 games together this year. 15-8. We had a defensive rating of fourth in the NBA and seventh in offense when we played together, 23 games. As good as that is, it’s not enough for Luke to even know what he has on a consistent basis when you don’t have a consistent roster every single night over a full season ... he played the hand as good as he could.”
In the end that probably won’t be enough to save Walton’s job. Even with a new coach, however, the Lakers will have bigger problems to fix.
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