LeBron James: No extension talks yet with Lakers
Dave McMenamin: LeBron James says that the collective bargaining agreement has not allowed him and Rich Paul to discuss a contract extension for him with Rob Pelinka and the Lakers yet. He says when those conversations are allowed to occur by the CBA, they will be had.
Source: Twitter @mcten
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron claims he was the “MVP of the season” last year before he sprained his ankle. – 12:25 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron says the reason the BIG 3 didn’t work this season is “because we weren’t on the damn floor together.”
21 games of LeBron + AD + Westbrook. – 12:24 PM
Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
LeBron James: “The reason we weren’t very good together? We weren’t on the damn floor together.” – 12:24 PM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
LeBron James says the MRI on his left ankle confirmed that he would not require surgery or any injections to it to repair it. He said he made the ankle worse by playing in the second New Orleans game on it and will need to stay off it for the next 4-6 weeks to let it recover – 12:24 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James sums up his fit with Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook: “The reason we were not very good together is we weren’t on the damn floor together. That’s the No. 1 damn thing.” – 12:24 PM
Mike Bresnahan @Mike_Bresnahan
LeBron James said he would need to stay off his sprained ankle for another 4-6 weeks after getting an MRI last week.
No surgery required, but he acknowledged he probably shouldn’t have played vs. New Orleans two weeks ago. – 12:23 PM
Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
LeBron James said the MRI revealed that there’s no surgery required for his ankle. He said he needs to stay off it for 4-6 weeks. He added that he shouldn’t have played against NO and likely made it worse. – 12:23 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron also says he’s got some doctor appts lined up to take a look at his knee and groin. – 12:23 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
LeBron said he’ll have to stay off of his left ankle for the next 4-6 weeks, but no surgery or injections. He shouldn’t have played against New Orleans, he said, and he made it worse, but he wanted to see if the Lakers could make a push. – 12:23 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
LeBron James says he will need to stay off of his sprained left ankle for 4-6 weeks. – 12:23 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LeBron on his ankle after an MRI: “There’s no surgery required, no injections, but I’m going to have to stay off it for 4 to 6 weeks to let it recover.”
He said he shouldn’t have played in the New Orleans game, which made it worse. But: “I’ll make a full recovery.” – 12:22 PM
Brad Turner @BA_Turner
LeBron James said he’ll have to stay off ankle 4-6 weeks after getting MRI on ankle. – 12:22 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on his MRI on his left ankle: “There’s no surgery, no injections.” But he said he has to stay off of his ankle for next 4 to 6 weeks. – 12:22 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron says there’s “no surgery required” on his injured ankle after getting an MRI. – 12:22 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on what the team needs to address most with its roster – offense, defense, getting younger? LeBron: “All three.” – 12:20 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
When asked what needs tweaking in the roster — offense, defense or getting younger, LeBron says, “all three.” – 12:18 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron James says this season is “not a failure” because the team worked together daily on trying to get better. – 12:18 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James: “I think the front office will do whatever it takes to win.” James stressed he will give his opinion if asked, but will defer to the front office with making roster decisions. LeBron: “It’s my job to make sure I’m ready at the start of training camp.” – 12:18 PM
Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
When LeBron James was asked what he wants to tweak in his game this off-season, he said, “I wanna get to the free throw line,” adding that he needs to learn how to “trick the refs.” – 12:17 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on one of his goals next season: “I want to get to the free-throw line. I want to learn how to trick the refs.” – 12:16 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
LeBron emphasizes that if the Lakers’ front office asks his opinion, he’ll give it, but his main responsibility is being ready at the start of training camp to lead whoever the team is. – 12:16 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron on what he wants to work on this summer: “I want to get to the free-throw line. … I’ve got to figure it out.” – 12:16 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LeBron: “The front office is going to do whatever it takes to make (this franchise) better. … it’s my job to make sure I’m ready at the start of training camp, ready to lead the team that’s on the floor, whoever that may be.” – 12:15 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron on upgrading the roster: “I think the front office is going to do whatever it takes” to make the team better moving forward. – 12:15 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LeBron: “I don’t have a cap on how long I want to play.”
He said it depends upon health, but: “I can still produce at a high level, as I showed this year.” – 12:14 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron on how long he wants to play: “I don’t have a cap on how long I want to play. … But I can still produce at a high level. That I showed this year for sure.” – 12:14 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LeBron remarked upon how frustrating the injuries and lack of continuity were this season, citing the franchise-record 41 different starting lineups that were used. – 12:13 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LeBron said he came to the Lakers to win a championship, and did so in 2020, but that remains the goal:
“I want to do it again.” – 12:12 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron on winning a championship with the Lakers: “I want to do it again.” – 12:12 PM
Bill Oram @billoram
LeBron on wanting to win championships as a Laker: “I accomplished what I to accomplish and I’m still hungry for more … Also want to just change the narrative of how this franchise can compete at a high level again.” – 12:11 PM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
LeBron James on his four years in Los Angeles: “I came here to win a championship but I want to win more … I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish … but I want to do it again” – 12:11 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LeBron said it’s natural to start thinking about the group for next season, how the pieces can best fit, looking for a “roster that can bring more wins,” no matter where he’s on the court most: “My personal goal is to be able to play any position on the floor.” – 12:11 PM
Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
LeBron James on Frank Vogel’s firing: pic.twitter.com/X1q54TRzfR – 12:11 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron on confidence in the Lakers rebounding: “I came here to win a championship and I want to win more.” – 12:11 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James: “I came here to win a championship. I came here to win more.” – 12:11 PM
Bill Oram @billoram
LeBron James said he has not yet had conversations about the contract extension he will be eligible for later this summer. – 12:10 PM
Dane Moore @DaneMooreNBA
It seems a lot of people think Pat Bev will check Paul George. He won’t
Jarred Vanderbilt will be the primary matchup on PG, because he always takes big ball-handlers (LeBron, Luka, etc). But Anthony Edwards will also get a lot of work on him. Switches, sloppy cross matches, etc pic.twitter.com/I5rBleAiLM – 12:10 PM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
LeBron James: “I respect Frank as a coach and as a man … He’s a man who gives everything to the game … 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” – 12:10 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
LeBron on Westbrook: “One thing about Russ that I love and I will always love is just his competitive spirit and what he brings to the game every night.” Says it’s not up to him to make decisions about the roster, but he’s loved being Russ’ teammate. – 12:10 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron on Frank Vogel: “I respect Frank as a coach and as a man. … I have nothing but respect for him.” – 12:10 PM
Brad Turner @BA_Turner
“I respect Frank as a coach,” LeBron James said. – 12:10 PM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
LeBron James says that the collective bargaining agreement has not allowed him and Rich Paul to discuss a contract extension for him with Rob Pelinka and the Lakers yet. He says when those conversations are allowed to occur by the CBA, they will be had. – 12:09 PM
Allen Sliwa @AllenSliwa
Lebron on his time with Westbrook…”I love being a teammate with Russ, that’s just the way it is…” – 12:09 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on if he can envision playing with Russell Westbrook again next season: “I’m not here to make decisions for the front office and that nature. But I loved being teammates with Russ.” – 12:09 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron on Russell Westbrook partnership next year: “I don’t put any expectations on anything. … I love being a teammate with Russ. That’s just the way it is.” – 12:09 PM
Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
LeBron James when asked if he intends to sign a contract extension with the Lakers pic.twitter.com/ff1yBOHYKF – 12:09 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on if he plans to sign an extension with the Lakers yet: “Myself and Rich can’t even begin to talk to Rob and the front office because of the collective bargaining agreement. When we get to that point, we’ll see.” – 12:08 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron James on being eligible for an extension with the Lakers: “The conversation hasn’t been talked about. … When we get to that point, we’ll see.” – 12:08 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James: “My personal goal is to be able to play at any position on the floor.” – 12:07 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
LeBron James is beginning his exit interview. Said it’s human nature to start thinking ahead to next season and think about how the Lakers can build a roster that wins more: “We definitely want to be better.” – 12:06 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James about to start his exit interview pic.twitter.com/TDmOQ3F0Uv – 12:06 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron’s presser begins… pic.twitter.com/IAx5Y4EMT1 – 12:06 PM
Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
Over NY’s final five games,
Obi Toppin averaged:
27.2 points,
6.2 rebounds,
3.8 made treys.
The only other players to average more than 27 points and six rebs in April were Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Pascal Siakam & Kevin Durant
tommybeer.substack.com/p/obi-and-iq-c… – 10:38 AM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Lakers’ Anthony Davis still believes he and LeBron James can be the foundation of a championship team
https://t.co/qxpLOtoFAK pic.twitter.com/FeVjQhwgtU – 9:30 AM
Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Victor Oladipo last night:
✅ 40 PTS
✅ 10 REB
✅ 7 AST
Oladipo is just the third player in @Miami Heat history to record at least 40p/10r/5a in a regular season game.
He joins Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, each of whom did so three times. pic.twitter.com/EmjF8E5wOV – 9:11 AM
Katy Winge @katywinge
DeMarcus Cousins explained he was taking a page from the LeBron James playbook to draw that flagrant foul. Said he went up a while back to swat LeBron, completely missed, but James acted and got him ejected.
Cousins said he was working it. The peek? “I was just messing around.” – 1:22 AM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
New story: Anthony Davis believes him and LeBron James can still lead a title team but admits the duo need to discuss “what changed” since the Bubble in rebuilding a contender this summer es.pn/3Kxb4zH – 1:19 AM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron James will be the first to talk tomorrow at 9am, according to the schedule sent out by Lakers PR. pic.twitter.com/Cy887oeXcT – 1:04 AM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I want to be clear about something. I have been very hard on the Lakers front office. I think deservedly so. I would not retain Rob Pelinka or Kurt Rambis.
But I think this is fixable no matter who the GM is. The Lakers have LeBron and AD. The hardest part is already done. – 12:49 AM
StatMuse @statmuse
Coaches fired on a LeBron team:
Paul Silas
Mike Brown
David Blatt
Luke Walton
Frank Vogel
Shoutout to Erik Spoelstra. pic.twitter.com/4fLzYb80H3 – 12:42 AM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
The Lakers, picked by Vegas to win 52.5 games, end the season 33-49 – a final win in DEN offering respite from a painful campaign. LeBron, Westbrook and Rob Pelinka are all slated to speak to reporters Monday as part of exit interviews. There will be plenty of questions to answer – 12:39 AM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Triple-doubles as a rookie: Austin Reaves, 1. LeBron James, 0. Draw your own conclusions, people. AK – 12:09 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
I asked Anthony Davis about Russell Westbrook’s often turbulent relationship with fans this season, how he and LeBron had communicated with him, and if he thought it could be healed. Davis’ response was four minutes long, and he wrapped up with this point on Russ’ role: pic.twitter.com/8o30BXvqhi – 10:03 PM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
Frank Vogel says LeBron James did not make the final trip of the Lakers season because he had an MRI on his left ankle scheduled in Los Angeles. When asked if the team had the results of the MRI available, a team spokesperson said, “No.” – 8:10 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
The Lakers disclosed earlier today the LeBron did not travel because of a medical appointment; Vogel adds pregame that he got an MRI yesterday. – 8:09 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Michael Malone said Denver will be sitting a bunch of guys tonight against the Lakers: Jokic, Gordon, Barton and Morris.
For LAL, no LeBron, AD, Westbrook or Anthony. – 7:48 PM
Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Kyrie: “I think somebody’s in the back room hip hip hooraying whoever created the Play-In tournament. Because last year you get Steph and LeBron, this year you get me and KD going against the Cavs in the Play-In game.” – 7:04 PM
Bill Oram @billoram
As a matter of housekeeping, LeBron James is not with the Lakers in Denver for the season finale. He had a doctor’s appointment yesterday regarding his ankle. – 6:50 PM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
LeBron James is not with the Lakers at tonight’s game in Denver, the team said.
James had a medical appointment in Los Angeles with team physician Dr. Kris Jones yesterday regarding his left sprained ankle and was excused by the Lakers. – 6:50 PM
Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Kyrie Irving points out that whoever invented the Play-In “must be in a backroom hip, hip, hooraying.” Points out last year it was Steph vs. LeBron, this year they get him and Durant. – 6:41 PM
Austin Krell @NBAKrell
This will be the first non-LeBron Cavs team to finish above .500 since 1997-98. Think that’s something to be proud of regardless of what the short-term outlook is for that team. – 5:57 PM
Sirius XM NBA @SiriusXMNBA
“They have to make drastic changes for [LeBron] to be around two to three more years”
For the Lakers to maximize their time with LeBron James, @Gary Payton tells @termineradio and @Eddie Johnson they need an influx of younger players
#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/UmGaSmHWGn – 2:09 PM
More on this storyline
Starting on August 4, LeBron James will be eligible for a two year, $97.1 million extension that would keep him under contract through the 2024-25 season. This decision is consequential for the Lakers not just because of the obvious reason of keeping him long-term, but because of the future flexibility it takes away. -via HoopsHype / April 6, 2022
Given the Lakers history of taking care of their stars, it seems like a good possibility that they will offer him the extension. He might not be in a rush to sign it in the offseason since he can sign it during the regular season, so he might as well see how the roster shakes out first. Not signing the extension could put a lot of pressure on the organization to mold the roster in a way James sees fit. -via HoopsHype / April 6, 2022
LeBron James has one year left on his contract with the Lakers but is eligible for an extension in August. Windhorst indicated the superstar will make his decision based on the team’s moves in the offseason but also noted James enjoys his current spot. “LeBron loves living in L.A., loves raising his kids there, loves sending them to Sierra Canyon,” Windhorst said (5:00). “I don’t think he wants to move.” -via Bleacher Report / March 29, 2022
